


Gaster Family

by HailSam



Category: Addams Family - All Media Types, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 16 or so, ??? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Addams Family Fusion, Alternate Universe - Small Town, But also, Egg Laying, Gaster is a flirt to himself, Gaster is not a vampire, Gen, HoA, I mean, Like, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mpreg, Oviposition, SO, Skeleton Pregnancy (Undertale), Underfell W. D. Gaster, Underswap Gaster - Freeform, ages will be ironed out, flirters, he's basically an octopus, in the past, it's exactly what you think, let's get that straight, not at all, not sure I will in the future, the 'kids' are in high school, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-01-27 06:35:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21387712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailSam/pseuds/HailSam
Summary: They're creepy, spooky, no one knows anything about them...Until a new family arrives, bringing drama and annoyance to the Gaster family.How absolutely divine!
Relationships: Gaster/gaster, Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 145
Kudos: 131





	1. The Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the new Addams Family movie and i got in a mood but there are no spoilers.
> 
> You can find me:  
https://twitter.com/sassyhaillive  
https://www.pillowfort.social/HailSam  
https://sassyhail.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you need on Pillowfort or even an invite here, let me know I'll help you out :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey

In a little town, far up a hill, beyond a creaky gate lied a giant, dark mansion. It is the source of all rumors within the town.

A man lives there. A skeleton, that is. The whispers say he’s always lived there, never aging, watching the town as it grew over the years. Only the elders say this, insisting he didn’t look a day over the time they had met him. Such gossip was brushed off, however. No one could live forever, even monsters aged in time and died.

The rest of the rumors were intriguing. A tall skeleton, he wore what appeared to be a very long robe, one that glided after him on the ground, with long flowing sleeves, that gripped around his torso. No one ever saw his legs, even though no one was brave enough to even think of it. They knew his name.

Wing Ding Gaster.

Doctor Gaster, if you were so inclined to politeness.

That was a rumor that persisted over the years. Doctor Gaster knew some interesting things, but he was not to be called for simple cuts or bruises. The first incident that anyone can recall is two small children, one that appeared as a goat and one human, had as children do decided to be tiny little chefs. They ate buttercups from the field, mistaking them for something akin to honeysuckle. Both were struck down with fevers and shaking and vomiting for a day.

The parents pleaded with the Mayor to inquire with the Doctor if he could help them. The Mayor hesitantly agreed, if only because he wasn’t a horrible man and he did not want to see children die.

Gaster swept in to town, all quiet, knife-like smile, robe trailing over the sidewalk as he followed the stuttering mayor. He nodded politely, hands clasped in front of him, mysterious smile as he paused near the home where both children were residing.

“I shall be back,” Gaster murmured, sweeping away down the stone walkway, leaving the mayor to feel as if he had escaped death itself.

The parents revealed he had locked himself into the room with the two highly ill children, and within an hour, he came out with two bright eyed and rosy cheeked children who asked for popsicles.

Since then, the town gently requested Doctor Gaster’s assistance with various medical maladies. He would never speak a word of what he would do, and the ones who were his patients could only say they had been in a deep sleep and would awaken to Doctor Gaster gently leading them from wherever they lay when disaster struck.

They insisted to pay him, but the doctor would deny them with that mysterious smile, and would walk away each time.

The elders said they could even remember their grandparents requesting his assistance, but again, they were ignored. No one could live forever.

Then one day came new rumors of him spiriting away two infants from a neighboring town, or having a hidden lover, or perhaps they were split from him like ribs, growing into their own.

Either way, the doctor appeared with one little infant tucked into his arm, another larger one on his back. The small one had an intense look, and they whispered how much like his father he looked. The larger one screamed loudly, albeit he never appeared in danger nor in a fit. He would just take a moment as the doctor walked, then would crack his little mouth open, tiny hands gripping Gaster’s robe as he howled loudly, mischief dancing in his eyes when others jumped.

He didn’t take them into town often. So much so that when the next time came for Doctor Gaster’s calling, the two children had grown a little.

The small one was barely at Gaster’s knee, in a ruffled black dress that made him appear like a porcelain doll. He was quiet, much like his father, eyes gazing forward and small hand clutching at Gaster’s cloak. The taller one was a head over him, dressed in a simple shirt and odd leather pants that had crossing belts on it. His skull was long, like Gaster’s, but the small one’s facial features took more onto his father than his brother’s did.

The few times they accompanied him, they would sit outside, sometimes sitting on a bench or standing side by side. The larger would have his arm around the smaller’s shoulders, both of them staring forward until Gaster arrived, and they took their positions once more.

The years went by, slowly but surely, and the citizens that lived there now remembered not the small skeleton children, but rather the larger ones that accompanied Gaster.

The one in a dress was just about half of Gaster’s height, wearing the ruffled dress from his youth. Instead of clutching at his father’s robe, he held his arms out in a bell fashion around his skirt, and by the clicking as he walked he had heels on. The dress had no sleeves but it stretched up to circle around his neck, covering his entire torso.

The larger one now wore a dark red sweater under a leather jacket. It had spikes decorating it, and still he wore the leather pants and flat boots. 

They still would stand outside from where their father worked. The taller’s arm would be around the smaller, a hand laid on his shoulder, both of them stock still guards of some sort.

No one knew their names. When asked the doctor would smile, and immediately side step the question, inquiring upon a patient instead.

It was…well, kind of peaceful. The towering mansion stood against the test of time, a metropolis of sorts surrounding around the hill in the middle of the city now. The gate wrapped around the bottom of the hill, but no one ever saw children come out and play or even the two grown ones outside. Just when Gaster came and went.

It was large and foreboding, a mysterious air around it that no one dared to question. Of course, as time went on, the generations became more cocky and ignorant of the previous ‘treaty’ with the doctor. They still asked for his assistance if it was something the hospital couldn’t heal-or was too expensive to heal-but beyond that the ones in charge brushed him off.

‘A blight,’ they said, ‘An eye sore,’ they muttered, staring at the mansion as they passed.

A tourist attraction of sorts, they found, enthralling ghost hunters and lovers of supernatural alike. None of them were allowed in-or rather they never dared to ask-so no one knew what it even looked like on the inside.

A new family moved in, and they had no idea of the future that was in store for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got updates coming for the others, don't worry! I just got in a funk, but uh, I've got them coming ;)
> 
> Anyway yeah so I'm a Swap/Fell shipper come throw hands with me


	2. New Neighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The families meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeaaaah

Doctor Gaster meets them on the way home after tending to a very badly hurt child who had ran out into the road for a ball. Now she had a ‘pretty pink’ cast and a lollipop, and was, well, alive. Doctor Gaster has his two sons with him as they walk in the sunlight, slowly down the sidewalk.

His tallest, Papyrus or ‘Edge’ as he’s taken to calling himself (ah those horrible teen years where you defy your parents, Gaster distinctly remembers rebelling and joining a choir before realizing it just was…not for him), was on one side, looking bored as ever. Edge never liked going out into the town, complaining that it was boring and that he’d rather play around in the graveyard blasting away tree stumps.

His youngest-Red, for his darling red eyelights-was as always on his other side. When he was young, he’d hold onto Gaster’s robe tightly. It was so cute. Now he’s a delicate little china doll hiding away pins that threatened to stick anyone who came near. He didn’t care for the town too much, but liked watching the people.

All this to say, this is how he meets the Swap family, in front of a cheery yellow house with a U-Haul in front of it.

Gaster had paused his little procession to allow a worker with a table by, only for someone to shout and hop down from the back of the U-Haul. “Hello, neighbor!! Isn’t it a grand day!!”

The man-skeleton-was tall, but slightly shorter than Gaster himself. He had sloping eye sockets as well, but a rather giant happy grin rather than the mysterious one Gaster sported. His eyes were orange and blue eye lights that were very, very huge in excitement. He was wearing a tweed sweater vest over a white button up shirt, slacks with a belt, and spiffy black shoes.

…how…interesting.

Gaster slowly nodded at him, tilting his head. “Positively dreadful. You are new then, to the town?”

“I am!” A hand swung up, and had Gaster been a lesser being, he would have jumped. However he merely stared at the hand stretched out before him for a handshake, looking slowly up to the eager man’s face, then slowly clasping his long cold fingers around the thin stumpy…warm…ones. “Ding Aster! Everyone calls me Dingy! How are you? Are these your children? They’re darlings, do you work around here?”

Question after question were shot out, the handshake never stopping. Gaster had to give it to ‘Dingy’, he didn’t flinch from the chill of his fingers, nor even stop at spying Edge’s fierce glare or Red’s unending stare. Intriguing. He squeezed his hand around Ding’s lightly. “I live up on the hill. I am a doctor.”

Ding gasped. “Oh! A doctor! That’s so neat! I-”

“DAAAAD!” The door to the yellow house banged open, a blur speeding at them and running straight into Ding’s legs. “DAD, WHERE’S MY-OH. HELLO!”

Another skeleton, around Red’s age, it appeared. He had an odd white shirt with blue sleeves and black shorts, while also wearing blue flat boots. He had bright blue eye lights, and he hugged onto his dad, waving brightly at the group. “HI HI HI!”

Gaster raised an eye ridge slowly. “Your child?”

Ding laughed, clapping his hand on the little skeleton’s head happily. “Blue! He’s going to high school this year, we’re all quite excited.” Blue seemed distracted by staring at Red with a blush, almost hiding around Ding’s leg despite the fact they could still see him. “Papy should be around here…or he’s taking a nap.” He laughed.

Gaster clapped his hands together. “How wonderful. We really must be on our way. Perhaps we’ll meet again.”

Ding laughed, nodding as he gave a jaunty wave. “Of course! See you around town!” He ushered a star struck Blue into the house as the trio started up their walk again. Almost to the gate of the hill, Red tugged on his robe lightly.

“Are we really going to see them again?”

Red’s voice was like a soft wind, something that seemed like it was nice, at first, and terrifying when it rose in speed.

“UGH I HOPE NOT.”

While Edge’s was like glass being thrown in your face. Gaster so loved his boys. He opened the gate and they went in, the gate mysteriously shutting behind them. “Perhaps.”

Red flicked a look up at him, then back to staring ahead. “We have never met any other new neighbors before. Why this one?”

Gaster hummed, the door to their home opening the moment he stepped on the creaky wooden steps, shutting behind them with a click of a lock. “Skeletons such as ourselves are few and far between. Our extended family is too far to even visit for now. It wouldn’t hurt to make allies of them.”

“YEAH THE KID LIKED YOU, RED!” Edge teased, ducking in time to avoid a steel needle with a drip of poison. Red rolled his eyes, stepping down the small step from the entrance. Their living room had a fireplace, two armchairs, a massive bookcase, and the most dreary looking wallpaper with stairs that wrapped around the walls.

“His infatuation is of no consequence to me.” Red sniffed daintily, stepping around the little bear rug they had, slipping into one armchair and folding one ankle over the other as he picked up the book of torture methods he had put away on their way out. 

“Boys, don’t argue, you know how it upsets the ghoul in the attic.” Right on time came chains shuffling and horrific moaning. Edge rolled his eyes, huffing as he loudly said, “APOLOGIES, GHOUL!” The ghoul settled down, only making small chain shifting noises now.

Gaster clicked his tongue, lacing his fingers together slowly. “Besides, wouldn’t you two rather some…playmates besides each other?”

Edge quickly nodded with a giant grin, and Red peeking over his book was nearly the same indication. “Exactly. For now, settle down and I shall put the pot to boil, it’s time to eat.”

“Yes, Father.” They echoed, Red ducking back into his book while Edge headed up the stairs with a long stride, eager to check on his dynamite supply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm. To make Swap a secret creepy guy as well...or just a really naive fella who's response to a bowl of tentacle soup being 'Neat! Something new!'


	3. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A town meeting happens. Ding is too positive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just. I just really really adore Blue having this massive crush on Red and chasing him while it's vice versa for their bros XD

When they next meet, there is a town meeting happening in the park nearby…of sorts. Everyone’s gathered under a gazebo, spread out into the park and chattering softly to themselves.

No one knows why Doctor Gaster-and his children-were there as he never came out for anything, but he was, under the shadow of a tree in the distance. He had his hands steepled together, an intense look on his face as he stared ahead. Edge was carving at a piece of wood he found and Red held a black lace parasol, spinning it slowly in his hands.

Ding and his own children had arrived, Blue racing around into the crowd instantly. Gaster saw the other child, a lanky boy, about an inch taller than Edge, wearing an abnormally orange colored hoodie. It didn’t help it was blistering hot out, but he didn’t seem swayed, chewing away on a sucker as Ding was drawn into a conversation with someone.

Gaster never moved from beneath the tree, staring at the gazebo filled with happy people who held balloons or children or dogs. He knew Red had left his side to retrieve his dropped penny purse, he knew his son could take care of himself.

The penny purse-a small satchel that Red kept intriguing coins in-had slid down the small hill the tree was on. Red sighed slowly, taking a few steps after it. He paused as a gloved hand picked it up, the boy skeleton from before holding it out with a blush. “H-HERE YOU ARE!”

Red blinked, tilting his parasol so their hands were covered as he covered the purse in one hand, gently squeezing Blue’s fingers as he smiled. “Thank you.”

The blush deepened as Blue stuttered while Red tied the penny purse back onto the ribbon on his side. He went to turn except Blue squeaked out a “WAIT!”

He turned, staring at Blue who was plucking at his gloves lightly. “DO-DO YOU GO TO THE SCHOOL HERE?? WE COULD BE STUDY PALS!”

“I don’t.”

“OH…” He seemed disappointed at that, then perked up. “WOULD YOU LIKE TO HANG OUT SOMETIME? I HAVE MANY AN INTERESTING ACTION FIGURE!”

Red tilted his head in amusement, his eyes skating over Blue slowly before he smiled. “Perhaps. …in three days. Meet me at the gate of my home.” And with that he left, leaving Blue stuttering out an affirmative before he rushed away to gush to his brother who would tease him over his crush.

Edge looked down at Red who kneeled onto the grass, spinning his parasol. “YOU GOT THAT KID ALL EXCITED.”

“Mm. Father’s right, we should…branch out, dear brother.”

“EW.” He went back to scraping at the piece of wood in his hands. Gaster was mysteriously absent from the tree now.

Ding turned around after letting a small child scribble on his face in lieu of face painting, nearly jumping out of his sweater vest as the skeleton doctor he had met before was right behind him. “Oh! I’m so sorry! It’s nice to meet you again!”

“Hm.” Gaster slowly looked over at the gazebo, then looked back at Ding with that mysterious smile. “I believe I know what’s going on. What say you?”

Ding shrugged, licking at the ice cream cone in his hand. “I have absolutely no idea! We got a paper on our door this morning! Do you?”

“I do.” He stared at Ding for a while, then cocked his head to the side. “They know not what they have disturbed.”

Ding blinked, scrunching his nose up in confusion. “Wha-”

“If they ask for volunteers, I’d like you to raise up your voice.” Gaster grinned slowly. “I will not let anyone come near. Understand?”

Ding nodded in confusion, and Gaster turned, his robe following him almost like a giant ink stain, people moving around him to let him through and back towards the tree. Well. That was. Something! Ding was distracted by Blue launching himself at Ding’s legs, asking if he could have a sleepover with a friend in a few days. Aww. He was so happy his boys were making friends!

As time went on, the mayor tapped a microphone, asking everyone to settle down so he may make an announcement. Ding looked back, but Gaster and his children were already gone from the tree, nothing to indicate they were even there. He turned back around with a shrug, one hand on Blue’s shoulder to keep an eye on him. Papy-his eldest-was right next to him, looking down at something in his hand in confusion and turning it around and around. Ding’s attention was drawn back to the gazebo as the meeting began.

It was interesting, for sure. The mayor happily announced that he and the rest of the ‘board’-whoever that was-had teamed up with Gleeful Construction to clean up the parks, fill in potholes, make the town ‘better’ he claimed. Ding thought it was nice as is, the park may be overrun with weeds a little, and yeah the potholes left much to be desired, but it wasn’t the worst place in the world. And then the mayor did something that surprised Ding.

“We need volunteers in order to do a special project! It will take guts and brains to do what we have planned, so please, think about it amongst yourselves! We’ll gladly accept more than one person for this project, as we don’t believe just one could do it.”

…huh. Isn’t that…what…Ding cleared his throat, throwing his hand up and waving wildly like how Blue did often. “I’d like to! I’d love to help out in our new town!”

Not many others volunteered, as they really didn’t want to deal with anything more than cheering on the workers and leaving them at that. Papy gave his father an odd look. “Really, Dad? We just got here.”

Ding patted his shoulder sweetly. “Yes, but the kind doctor wanted me to help out! I’m not sure why, but I bet he’s part of it, don’t you think?”

Papy shrugged as Blue vibrated in place. “IT SOUNDS EXCITING!”

Ding nodded, waiting until the crowd thinned out so they could approach the gazebo. Papy slipped the thing in his hands into his pocket hoodie, but Ding spied it before he did so.

It looked…like a wooden mine with a heart carved into it?

How silly. His boys always found the most interesting things.

———————————————————————————————————————

Gaster knew it would come to this. He didn’t know when, exactly, but it was going to happen, either way. However, in the past he could pick up and move with nary a thought, but he had children to think about. He recalled his own father, spiriting him and his mother way at the slightest sign of trouble. No. That was a nerve wracking hellish existence. He’d never put his children through that.

He already had precautions in place, as it were. And with his new…alliance with ‘Dingy’, at least he could control what was revealed and what wasn’t. 

They were modern people. They relied on laws and lawsuits and ‘protests’ to do what pitchforks and torches did back then. Gaster scoffed, pouring a cup of tea slowly, the house shaking with a boom as Edge mistook his timing and ended up launching a tombstone the wrong way. These people didn’t know fear, nor were they exactly the fearsome persons that their ancestors were. No, he would win this battle, he thought as he set the tea pot on a small tray that skittered away on spider legs.

He sat down, taking up his cup to slowly sip.

He had to. For his children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's a little cliche 'town against the creepy family' plot. It will end SUPER different, trust me.
> 
> And no Ding doesn't agree that they should force Gaster to sell/give up/leave his land, but it's presented to him that they've been trying to reach an agreement with Gaster but it's hard to get in touch.
> 
> So basically he assumes Gaster is down for it, Gaster thinks he has a pawn in the game, and neither of them are prepared for what's about to throw down.
> 
> Neither am I!
> 
> Haha.


	4. A Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ding makes a visit...and Blue makes...um...a friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So one time I made up a thing where Blue was Gomez and Red was Morticia and Blue carved someone's heart out to give Red and Red was like 'M-Marriage? So soon? Oh we just met...but if you insist'
> 
> I think about that a lot.

When the time comes, Ding rudely interrupts Gaster’s tea time by ringing the doorbell. The ghoul in the attic wails loudly as the bell makes a series of horrifying chimes. Gaster is out in the small greenhouse, sipping tea while nibbling small sandwiches as his smallest son goes around the giant venus fly trap they have and feeds the many heads little ferrets. His head snaps around towards the door, then looks at Gaster with wide eyes. Gaster sighs, putting his cup down with a clink. “Yes yes, go and greet them. I’ll put on a new tea. Tell Edge to be on his best behavior.”

Red nods, and neatly disappears towards the living room with small clicking steps. Gaster stands up, taking his tray with him to go and prepare a new pot of tea. Perhaps something citrus-y, with a bit of alligator…

Red opens the door slowly, the gigantic thing swinging inward as he stares out at the family on the porch. Ding looks marvelously at ease with a giant smile on his face and some file under his arm. The tall skeleton from last time was peering at a stray vine while the other-Blue?-was vibrating in place as he stared at Red. Red flicked his eyes up at Ding. “Hello.”

“Ah! Hello there! Is your father home? I’ve been told-”

“Come.” Red turns without much prompting, and lets them into the home. He leads Ding to a chaise, waving a hand at it for him to sit before lacing his arm with Blue’s. “Come.”

Blue squeaked, blushing bright and his brother snickering as Red led Blue away up the stairs. Ding smiled. “Oh Papy, don’t tease your brother. He’s got a new friend! It’s adorable!”

“Suuuure, pops.” Papy chuckled, taking a seat in the oddly spiky armchair. A giant clock ticked somewhere in the house, but it wasn’t too long until Gaster himself swept out of the kitchen with a tray of tea cups and…a smoking tea pot. Hm. He laid the tray on the coffee table before standing up with a wave to the tray.

“Dig in, then, tea is nicely boiled.”

Ding looked a bit nervous while Papy happily snatched up what had appeared to be a round red berry. He grimaced. It tasted…really tart. He didn’t much like it. Gaster took a seat in the other armchair, gracefully crossing his arms in his lap as he smiled at Ding. “You took a while.”

Ding perked up. “Sorry! Yes! I had to sign the boys up for school and activities and find out where the shops were…you know, all the fun moving…stuff.” He laughed nervously, scratching his cheek at the heavy look Gaster was giving him. He was still smiling, oddly.

“Indeed. I believe the last time I moved, the land was still formed together.”

…okay, that was a thing then. Ding easily sidestepped as he cleared his throat, Papy playing with the string on his hoodie. “Oh. Yes. Of course. Ah, well, you see! I am here because the Gleeful Construction company says they’ve been trying to reach you!”

“I haven’t moved.” That strange mysterious grin was still on his face. Ding bobbed his head nervously.

“Yes, I’m not sure why…they needed someone else to do it, but anywho! They seem interested in helping clean up your hill here! Planting flowers, making the house…” He looked around slowly. “…well, I like it, at least. Has a ‘museum’ feel to it.”

Gaster let out a soft huff. “Yes. I’d rather them not.”

Ding sat up quickly with a grin. “I know, they said it was inherited land or the like, but times are changing! Wouldn’t you like a nice bed of roses or, or a giant apple tree!” he was near bouncing in place himself at the idea of it all. Gaster merely gave him an amused smile as he watched him.

“Times are always changing. May I show you around? It wouldn’t do to talk business without having seen what you’re supposed to be arguing over.”

Papy bristled a bit-it sounded a bit like Mister Gaster was calling his dad not very bright-but Ding didn’t seem to mind as he gasped and shot up. “Absolutely! That sounds marvelous! It’s such a big home, I wondered how many rooms you did have!”

Gaster slid up so smoothly, Papy could only imagine a snake rising up from a coil that he’d seen online. Creepy. He stood near his dad as Gaster turned, crooking his fingers at them. “Follow me.”

——————————————————————————————————————

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?”

Red had strapped Blue into a funny chair, dropping a silver bowl onto his skull although it didn’t block Blue’s vision. Red walked around his room easily, gathering up a few things. His bed looked exactly like a coffin, but the inside had lace around the edges, and for some reason was pale pink? There was a small bench looking thing at the end with a plush seat, a very soft carpet under their feet, and so many books! A lot of them!

…and dolls. Lots of them. Everywhere on shelves. So many were missing heads, some were holding their heads, some appeared to have button eyes. 

They were cool!

But Blue wasn’t so sure playing ‘Death Row Prisoner’ was safe. Red could hurt himself!

Red stepped in front of Blue, patting his cheek with a sly grin. “Yes. Edge loves this game. You will too, I assure you.”

Blue blushed brightly at the touch to his cheek, seeming enraptured as Red slid his fingers slowly over his cheek as he stepped away to a large switch. “O-OKAY~ HOW UM, HOW DO I WIN?”

Red’s eyes glinted dangerously as he gripped the switch. “Survive.”

———————————————————————————————————

In Gaster’s library, where Gaster was happily showing a very large and ornate book to Ding that showed his heritage of this land, the lights flickered. Ding looked up nervously, Papy was busy spinning a globe with a grin. “Doctor, I think your lights are going out.”

“No no, Red’s just playing, the little scamp. I would suggest your son play with Edge, but Edge is busy studying.”

Ding perked up. “He is? What of? Mathematics?”

“History of Dynamite,” Gaster smiled. Ding laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh teenagers, they do have such odd interests! Now, you say there’s a swamp nearby? Would you not consider perhaps at least putting some peonies by it?”

——————————————————————————————————

Gaster and Red saw their guests off at the door. Ding seemed happy with their ‘progress’, Papy looked bored, and Blue…well he was positively lit up.

With strange soot marks on his cheeks and head, and stars in his eyes.

Ding had asked him if he and Red had fun and Blue nodded dreamily as they walked away from the mansion. “HE WAS NICE. CAN WE COME BACK AGAIN?”

Papy snorted. “We gotta if that weird construction company tells us, right, Dad?”

“Yes, but for now, we still have things and the like to unpack at home! Let’s go, boys!”

Papy’s groan echoed through the pathway as the gate shut behind them, and Gaster peered down at his son. “Death Row Prisoner, darling? Already?” Red’s eyes were wide and the eye lights were round like a cat’s as he nodded. Gaster sighed, gently placing his hand on Red’s head to lead them back inside. “How you boys grow up so fast…at least wait until your twenties before raising the dead with him, I’d rather not have little serial killers toddling around before you get to reign terror down.”

“Of course, Father. You should scold Edge as well, he gave away a naval mine to the taller one.” Red peered up at Gaster, his hand clutching at Gaster’s robe again. “If you don’t watch, you may get a firestarter on your hands instead.”

Gaster’s laugh and Edge’s offended sputtering-and proceeding boom as he threw a molotov at Red-echoed in the house as the doors shut behind them.

The town may think they have someone on their side, but oh how they underestimated Doctor Gaster. It wouldn’t take much to ensnare the man and his children into Gaster’s web so bad they wouldn’t dare dream of betraying him.

And with them on his side…with nothing to lose…

What a glorious, horrible day that will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red and Edge's 'game' is more Red dragging his hissing brother to it before shocking him, but Edge is taller now so it's harder for Red to disable him for them to play.
> 
> Blue survived, and ah...he...liked it~ a lot.
> 
> Just know that Blue really likes to get shocked now, and Red is immediately in love with him.
> 
> Of course, Gaster has rules and such, but he's happy his children have found playmates.
> 
> Red and Boss are about...15, I'll say. Papy is 17 and Blue is 16. 
> 
> It'll be *amazing* once everything gets to going. Mwahahahaha.


	5. Blue's 'Playdate'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ding has a secret. Blue has a crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding wants love is that so bad?

Ding had a secret. 

It wasn’t a big secret, not really. In fact, it maybe might not even be considered a secret.

Ding had bad luck.

Not any normal bad luck either. The reason for their move was that while out on a field trip, Ding had lit a small candle, in the middle of a table with nothing around it. The candle wax dripped on the table, shattering the glass in an instant, and lit their house on fire.

He had already stacked up their storage with most things as they were moving for his job anyway, but still!!

It didn’t even keep to him! He recalled shaking Blue’s teacher’s hand when they had met, and the moment he had left the room, a pen flew out of someone’s hand and stabbed the teacher’s hand so deeply he needed stitches.

Everyone he came across had something bad happen to them, and everything bad happened to him as well.

Except for his sons. His lovely children. He had fallen in love with a college sweetheart, and they had managed to have two little boys within two years before tragedy struck. He tried so hard not to think about it, but rather kept up a jovial look for his children.

His bad luck never affected his sons, to his great relief. Nor did it affect anyone near them in a way that would harm them as well (Blue was being signed out when the incident with the pen had happened, and was in the hallway). They didn’t have his curse either, thankfully. But oh…how it upset him, sometimes. He could barely keep friends with it all going on, much less a…another romantic life…but. Then he met that strange doctor. There was just something about him.

Ding wanted to be closer, to know more about him. But he was sure somehow, someway, it would end so very badly.

But at least he had an excuse to visit now, even if he didn’t quite believe the construction company’s flimsy excuse. He knew they just wanted him to bully Doctor Gaster into giving up his land, for one reason or another, but that was just so mean! Not that they cared. They had some kind of…they weren’t very happy with the doctor. For some reason. Ding wasn’t sure of the friction between them and the doctor. Maybe he had said no before?

Didn’t matter. For now he concentrated on getting his boys to school, setting up his office, unpacking everything. It took longer than he thought, but at least they had the weekend free, right?

He doesn’t visit, though. That would be too fast, right? He just went to the doctor’s home. That’d be…well it would be annoying and Ding didn’t want to annoy the doctor. But Blue begged to go to see his friend, to give some gift he had. Ding laughed and nodded, patting Blue’s head. “Oh go on then, dear. Just be back before it gets too late! And don’t wander off!” he called after Blue as the boy sprinted out the door, boots knocking on the ground, bandanna waving in the air. Papy snickered.

“He’s gonna chat the kid’s head off.” Ding chuckled, shaking his head.

“Be that as it may be, Blue’s happy. Now, let’s go and dig out the rest of the kitchen utensils!”

“Booo…”

——————————————————————————————————————————

Blue ran as fast as he could to the gates of the dreary looking home. He kept a blanket covered item close to his chest, panting as he looked around. Red said to come here so-

“Blue.”

Blue’s neck snapped as his head turned in an instant, brightening up as he saw Red who was holding his parasol. “H-HI! I CAME! I UM. HAVE A GIFT!”

“How quaint.” The gate between them opened, Red taking a few steps back slowly, waiting for Blue to cross over as he held the blanket. He unraveled it, showing two odd dolls. Red raised an eye ridge, looking up at Blue. “I have many dolls.”

Blue blushed, nodding quickly. “Y-YES, BUT!” He held up the spiffy looking man in a tux. “THIS IS H. H. HOLMES! HE BUILT A GIANT UH, MURDER MANSION! I MEAN. IT WAS HORRIBLE B-BUT…INTERESTING!” He handed the doll to Red then showed the other, a woman in a dress. “RITA GLUZMAN! SHE CHOPPED HER HUSBAND UP WITH AN AXE!”

Red blinked, then his face turned the slightest shade of red. “You think I could kill with an axe?”

Blue nodded, smiling brightly. “YOU JUST WOULDN’T GET CAUGHT!”

Red seemed to sway a bit in place, then took the doll with a smile as he turned. “Come talk.” Blue happily raced after him, floating on the happy feeling that he had impressed Red with the dolls. Red led Blue to an outdoor greenhouse, where large furled plants grew around them, and the smell of wet earth permeated the area. Red shooed Blue to a small table with a teapot and cups, setting up the dolls on a windowsill nearby as he started to pour the tea. “Talk.”

Blue happily launched into a story about something, Red wasn’t quite paying attention. Instead he sipped his tea, watching Blue’s eager hand waving as he filled the silence with his noise. Red was definitely keeping him, if Father would let him. All the rest of the townsfolk were boorish, dull, frightened of them.

Blue willingly walked into the spiderweb and smiled without a care. Red liked that in a future husband. Sadly, Father did make him promise to finish his studies and wait until he’s a little older. He was patient, though, unlike his brother. Red was willing to wait, and keep Blue entertained. After all, they had to teach Blue about their world, it would take…an exceedingly long time.

But Red still couldn’t help imagining their own castle on a hill and the ability to go grave robbing whenever they please.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Blue came home, blushing and a little hazy, it looked like. He blushed harder when Papy teased him and fussed at him, while Ding just asked if he had fun. Papy and Ding headed to the kitchen to eat, and Blue paused, slipping his fingers into his bandanna. A little white cloth square was folded up, it smelled of the wet earth from the greenhouse along with a tinge of cherry. 

Inside the cloth was a long, thin needle with a pointed end on both ends, and a promise to teach Blue how to use it when they met next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red is definitely focused on marrying Blue lmao.
> 
> He's also very touched that Blue thinks so highly of him and his murdering skills.
> 
> Ding's got a rough life. Rn he sees Gaster as just a close friend that he could get to know, you know? Gaster still kind of sees him as an amusing pawn. They will love each other. Soon.


	6. Dingin' In The Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ding is...well he's...he's something alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding's a silly man

The rain, even with how light it is, runs people into their homes and away from the outside…except for Doctor Gaster.

…and Ding, of all people.

Gaster finds him standing in his own yard as he passed by, walking down the sidewalk. The house caught his eye, and then the skeleton standing in the yard, face tilted up to the slightly warm rain with a smile, not caring about his soaking close.

“Ding?”

Ding jerked violently, making a noise as he stared at Gaster before laughing. “You scared me!”

Gaster tilted his head, looking Ding over slowly. His sweater vest was dripping wet, and his pants had gotten soaked enough it seemed to stick to his legs. “It is raining.”

“I know!” Ding laughed, raising his hands up to the sky. “Isn’t it amazing?!”

Hmm. Gaster quirked a smile, watching Ding. “Indeed. My children adore thunderstorms.”

“Blue likes them, but Papy hides away in the house,” Ding explained, still smiling even as he rocked on his heels, letting the rain fall on him. Gaster really couldn’t say anything. He had no umbrella as well.

But it was like even the rain knew he was not to be touched, and he appeared dry as a bone to the naked eye.

“How darling. You haven’t been by in a while, I thought you had forgotten me,” he teased. Ding laughed nervously, rubbing at his cheek with a grin.

“Just been busy, getting the boys settled, setting up activities…the..usual,” he muttered. Gaster nodded, his hands cupped together as he continued to watch Ding.

“Come by then, I’ll have a tea set up. Your youngest can play with my child. I believe he’s been missing him.”

Ding laughed, stretching his arms up to the sky. “Blue talks about nothing but Red lately! It’s sweet, I hope it’s not an inconvenience.”

Gaster quirked a smile. “Not at all. My little vampire is just as enthralled in him. They’ll make great partners in crime.” Ding nodded quickly, letting his arms fall back down with a wet slap to his pants. 

“Wonderful! We’ll pop by then, possibly this weekend?”

“Perfect.” Gaster smiled. “I shall see you then, sir.” With that, he turned, walking down the sidewalk as he did usually towards his home, leaving Ding to enjoy the weather.

——————————————————————————————

“It ain’t gonna work.”

Edge jerked his head up, scowling at the hoodie-wearing skeleton. Edge was setting up a line under the porch stairs, when someone stepped on it, it would unleash several pop fireworks, ending in a giant bomb that would propel a headstone to smash RIGHT into Red’s room! (Because he totally wasn’t jealous that some little miscreant was taking his brother’s attention, no way.) “WHAT DO _YOU_ KNOW?”

Papy pointed at the pressure plate. “You set it up wrong. You put the wire in the middle, that’s too obvious.” He shrugged. “You should do the edges instead. Make it less obvious.”

Edge blinked, scowling at Papy, huffing. “HM. I’LL TRY IT, I SUPPOSE,” he grumbled even as he wrapped the wire around it and taped it down. Papy gave a thumbs up, shuffling off to the side as Edge hopped up.

“WHAT?”

“Was gonna watch.” Papy shrugged. “Looks fun. Who’s gonna step on it?”

Edge grinned maliciously, dragging Papy by the sleeve and shushing him as they hid in a bush. It seemed the target of his ‘prank’ was a portly man with a mustache that twitched every few minutes. He seemed to be grumbling, juggling two large books as he walked up the steps. He nearly stumbled with a yelp as he stumbled on the pressure plate.

Like magic each pop firework on the line was set off and the man yelled, scrambling to run in the house calling for Gaster. Edge nearly shook in excitement, bouncing in place. “5…4…3…2…1!!!”

…”Was something supposed to happen?”

Edge groaned, stomping around the house as Papy followed in amusement. The wire was wrapped around a giant mine that WAS buried under a headstone but was now being carefully stood on by the petite skeleton. “Brother, you aren’t very subtle.”

Edge huffed, stomping his foot. “YOU’RE NO FUN!”

Red blinked, twirling his parasol as he rocked on the mine, to Blue’s worried looks from below. “You’re explosive. However, I am willing to exchange an attack on my fragile window for a nail bomb.”

Edge lit up. “ABSOLUTELY!”

Papy snorted as Blue laughed nervously. “I-ISN’T THAT A BIT…DANGEROUS…THEN?”

Red peered down at him with that hazy gaze again. “Of course it is, dear, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, I hate having to redecorate my room.” He hopped off it, and Papy did look on in shock, but Red slowly floated down with the dress in a bell fashion around him, the parasol twirling as he floated down.

Edge huffed. “SHOW OFF,” he muttered.

“If you insult me, you may get the bomb in your bed.”

Edge rolled his eyes, nodding. “FIIIINE. GIMME!” 

Red tutted before winding his arm with Blue’s. “Very well. Come along.” Red led Blue between the gravestones, Edge nearly jogging to catch up as Papy shuffled after them. They sure were some weird kids…but neat all the same.

—————————————————————————————

The portly man wheezed in the armchair, dabbing at his face with a handkerchief. “It was brutal! Awful! I was nearly lit aflame!” Ding was busy patting his hand, looking a bit nervous as Gaster brought out some tea.

“Oh Mister Richard, it can’t have been that bad. Children play tricks all the time-”

“He’s trying to murder me!” Richard howled, and Ding looked over at Gaster with a frown. Gaster just looked amused as he settled on the couch, taking his cup in hand.

“If you wouldn’t react so much to his attempts,” Gaster explained, “He would lose interest. But every reaction eggs him on. Now, let’s get down to business.”

Richard grumbled, snatching up a cup and draining it. “You added whiskey! I think he’s forgiven.”

Gaster just smiled and Ding tried not to sigh. That was an emotional roller coaster to be sure. “What um, what are you doing here, Mister Richard?” Richard gulped his tea down, filling it up with the pot, not even daring to ask why his was refilled with whiskey.

“Yes, yes, well, you see.” He coughed, blotting at his face again with the handkerchief. “Dickens went on vacation to The Penitentiary-” lightning flashed through the window despite the bright blue clear sky. “And we all know how he is about informing others and keeping up to date with work, so I was voluntold.” Richard sighed roughly, taking another long draw of his ‘tea’. “Calibri wants to visit, but due to all the ah business with…” He made a motion at Ding.

“Ah the Gleeful Construction people?” Ding responded. Richard nodded, blowing his nose on his handkerchief before folding it up into his breast pocket.

“Yes, that. Well, more stress than it’s worth. She has invited you back to Alcatraz, you should take the boys one day.”

Gaster just nodded, and Ding felt very out of place. Richard patted one of the books. 

“Well, check these over, make sure it’s all good, I’ll see you all later.” He rumbled up out of the chair, nearly stomping out of the house, and had Ding not seen how…jovial he was, he would have assumed he was steaming angry at Gaster. Ding sighed, finally taking a drink of his tea as he shot a confused look at Gaster.

“That was…interesting.”

Gaster nodded, placing his cup down before folding his hands in his lap. “Indeed. I had nearly forgotten the month’s time. I should have expected as much when Edge requested pop fireworks and a rocket. I haven’t heard an explosion, however. I suppose Red caught on.”

Ding just nodded again, giving a bit of a nervous smile. “Ah, well, yes, children and their tricks, yes?”

“Yes. Come, let me show you around the upper level of the house.”

Ding nodded eagerly, mostly to get away from the awkward tension, and he put his cup down to hurry after Gaster. One of the rooms Gaster showed him had old torture devices. Gaster explained his family had been during the witch trials, and had saved a few…items from it all. Ding looked at all of it slowly, the cuffs attached to the wall, the hanging chains…the Iron Maiden.

“Oh! What’s this?”

Ding reached over to an odd assortment of spears, but before Gaster could say, the moment Ding got close one of them swung free of its home and flew threw the air. It caught in a chain, which dragged itself down, and when it reached the iron maiden the spear smashed into it, forcing it closed as the chain comically wrapped around it tightly. If anyone had been near it, they would have been caught inside. Ding slowly turned to Gaster with a dark red face, sinking into his shoulders.

“…s…sorry?”

Gaster slowly raised an eye ridge, looking at the tied up Iron Maiden then back to Ding with a hum. “Interesting. I’ve never seen that happen before.”

Ding groaned softly, a hand coming up to rub at his face. “I’ve got…horribly bad luck, it always shows up at the worst of times,” he muttered. He didn’t see the way Gaster’s eyes flickered in intrigue.

“Oh?”

Ding sighed, nodding. “I used to kill plants in grade school, make volcanoes explode in science…that one time I shorted out the school’s computer system,” he mumbled.

Gaster’s eye sockets brimmed in darkness as he smiled, leaning closer to Ding. “How absolutely dreadful. Please, tell me more.”

A crack of dark lightening sounded outside, Ding never knowing exactly how he had gained the attention of a viper hiding in plain sight.

——————————————————————————————

The nail bomb went off splendidly, littering nearby cars with sharp nails along with their fence. Red easily deflected most of them with his parasol while Edge laughed manically and dodged everything by rolling around. Blue hid under the parasol with Red, frowning. “WHY DO THEY WANT YOU ALL TO LEAVE?”

Red shifted, tugging Blue’s hand up to hold the parasol with him, wrapping his hand around Blue’s. “We’re different. Father says when he was young, his parents weren’t as lucky, and our grandparents’ longest stay was on the edge of California for three months. Before the earthquake hit.”

Blue’s eyes widened. “OH UM. WHICH ONE?”

Red blinked. “The one that started the San Francisco fire, of course. The townsfolk blamed them. Which, they’re not exactly wrong.”

Blue frowned, tilting his head. “HUH? YOU CAN’T MAKE EARTHQUAKES JUST HAPPEN!”

“No, but an Earth God can.” Red’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at Blue. “When things happen, who do people blame? The ones who can reach through the Veil,” he whispered, leaning in closer. Blue could swear his breath had stopped, either at Red’s intense words…or how close they were as nails rained down among them. “But even we cannot soothe Gods and Deities, not when they’ve so been insulted. We can only beg.”

The nails stopped, and Red snapped his parasol shut, swinging it onto his arm to point down as he leaned back. “There’s nothing wrong here,” Red said, his eyes sliding from Blue towards the fence that was now dented. “But there’s that old primal fear of the Unknown. Rather than make a pact as their ancestors did, they wish to wash their hands of us in a way that doesn’t stain their souls with guilt.”

“B-BUT THEY WON’T, RIGHT?” Blue squeaked, now realizing his breathing had stuttered, blushing as Red’s arm wrapped with his.

“The future is what it is, Father will fight in the only way he knows how.” Red paused, looking into the distance as Edge and Papy started play-throwing the nails at each other, hissing fake insults covered in laughs. “The only reason he was allowed to stay is that he was useful. He still is, but they know not what they take advantage of.” Red laced their hands together, and started walking them back to the house.

“If you cheat Death enough times, he starts to get suspicious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaster? Secretly Death? Nah
> 
> and yeah there's other skeletons in the world. It's just they can't get together very often (like how the Addams' do in the movies). 
> 
> Thing is. There IS a difference between Monster Skeleton Ding...and Doctor Gaster and his children. 
> 
> Even if the humans just lump them together.


	7. The End Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster knew this would happen. His children knew this would happen. Ding is a wrench thrown brutally into the cogs of the machine.
> 
> Gaster likes that about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know, I know, it hasn't been nearly enough time for them to bond but look
> 
> look

It happens sooner than he thought it would, really.

Such a shame. He really did love this little town. And the new move-ins, of course.

But such is the life of Their Family. No wonder most of his kin stayed in ‘haunted hospitals’ or abandoned islands. 

Ding, of course, is shocked as they walked the sidewalk away from the ‘town meeting’ that had taken place. “I can’t bel-they just fired you! Or. Something! That isn’t fair!”

Gaster just nodded along as Ding frowned, crossing his arms. “ ‘Don’t need your services’, what a load of. Something. You help out a lot, from what I hear!”

“I do.” Gaster agreed, pausing at the corner to let a car pass by. “I’m quite surprised, honestly, that it has lasted this long. Greed won out over desperation, again.” He sighed. “Ah well.”

Ding huffed. “Doctor, you can’t just give in!” Gaster watched in amusement as Ding wound himself up further and further, his skull a tinge of blue from a blush as he waved his arms around. Fascinating. Angry in Gaster’s stead. What a darling of a man.

“Well. What do you think I should do, dear Ding?” Gaster goaded him lightly as they crossed the crosswalk, Ding still in a huff.

“I! Hm. I!” Ding winced, a hand under his chin as he thought. “A good petition always raises the people to do good! Yes, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll-”

He was cut off by Gaster’s hand on his shoulder, leaning in with a mysterious grin. “How quaint. Words have never been useful to the hard heads that lead the flock. But do try. You’ll be their only line of defense.”

Ding blinked, the hand on his shoulder warm and making him flush a bit. “D-Defense, what do you-”

“Goodbye, Ding.” And with that, the doctor slipped away, leaving Ding to wonder exactly what in the world was going on in this…’little’ town.

————————————————————————————————

No one sees them the next day. It’s not unusual, the children sometimes play in the outside of the home but the doctor doesn’t generally leave the mansion unless it’s to attend to a patient. Nothing happens the next day, albeit now there’s a…dim stillness to things. Like the odd calm before the waves on a beach start drawing back to devour the shore. The land around the mansion is darker now, and the home itself seems to draw in further and further.

Ding asks Blue if he’s spoken with Red, but Blue just shakes his head. “WE TRADED NUMBERS, AND HE READS MY TEXTS BUT HE WON’T ANSWER…”

Ding nods worriedly, before bustling the children off to school. That was worrying, although more of a sadness of his child losing a first crush. Young love, you know? 

Nothing the next day. Or the next. Or the next.

And then Mr. Elroy from down the road drops dead in the supermarket. Walking one moment, and down he goes the next. People panic, call 911, and he’s shipped off with his family in tears at the sudden death..

And then little Mary Ann slips away during the night. Then her mother, both of them oddly burned despite nothing being near them to cause it. The town recalls the fire that happened just last year, and worries that it somehow had been connected.

Mr. Oglesby, a cantankerous old man with a sharp eye and a hateful voice, stamps his cane down. “Told ye,” he mutters. “Told ye.” 

No one listens.

Mr. Oglesby gets up from his chair in the town hall, and the mayor gestures at him. “Yes sir, you had something to add?”

“When I was a wee boy,” Mr. Oglesby explains, his hands trembling on his cane. “My pa had me go out ta cut firewood. Missed, chopped me foot off. Called the doc. Fixed up.” He grunted. “Ya did a bad thing,” he mutters, despite the mayor shaking his head. “T’aint too long before I get my due.”

The mayor huffs. “I’m not certain what you’re on about, but please, don’t cause a panic.” The others started raising their voices, worrying over the sudden deaths as the Chief of Police took the stand.

Mr. Oglesby is, surprisingly, found in his bed by his neighbor, appearing in a peaceful slumber. When they remove the covers, his foot has been cleanly chopped off, dead as if it had been decades.

The people start to connect the dots.

Ding slipped his groceries into the trunk of his car, slamming it with a sigh. He jumped as he noticed someone next to him. “Oh! Mayor, you start-”

“You need to talk with him,” the mayor hissed. “He’s caused a rabble, he’s got everyone spooked about dying!” The mayor pointed at the mansion on the hill. Ding frowned.

“I don’t know why you think he’ll listen to me. Or that he has anything to do with it!”

The mayor grumbled, shaking his head. “You just don’t understand. Just talk to him.” With that he lumbered away. Ding shook his head. These people were in an uproar and blaming the doctor…again. What a town, they gang up on one person-Ding let out a frustrated sigh. No no, he couldn’t let himself get angry. He had to go and get his boys from school, anyhow.

He’s shocked-very shocked-to find, at the doorway to the gym where Blue comes out of, is Red. He’s in a pressed pinafore, no parasol but he is holding a very well-dressed doll in his hands. He was staring a hole into the door, not moving an inch. “…Red? What are you doing here?”

Red’s eye lights strayed towards him, the movement uncanny with how still he was. “Waiting for Blue.”

“…I see that. But um. Why? You haven’t before.” Then again, Blue had just started up a basketball venture this semester, so this was only the second time he came to pick Blue up after practice.

“Reasons.” His eyes flicked to the door, then back at Ding. “Do you know what a pact is, sir?”

Ding blinked. “Um. Yes. A promise made between others! Right?”

“Yes.” 

Red’s body turned in a slow motion, as if on a slowly rotating stage as he stared up at Ding. “Imagine a portal.

“Imagine a portal in which you have no idea of what lays beyond it. Imagine a town, afraid and in dire need of assistance.

“Imagine a guardian of the portal. Imagine the town finding said guardian.

“ ‘Please,’ they plead. ‘Please, spare us the wicked ends, the painful ways, the unexpected. Let us go naturally, not with fear.’

“ ‘I will,’ promises the guardian. ‘In return, I have terms you must abide by.’

“ ‘Anything,’ the town cries out. ‘Anything to spare us the ever-reaching hand that extends from the portal.’

“ ‘Excellent,’ the guardian says, all sharp teeth and smiles. ‘Provide me a home, for I and mine own, for as long as I require. And if you break my terms, then I am unable to stop what shall occur.’

“ ‘Yes,’ the town breathes out, and the pact is made.”

Ding felt his own breath leaving him, breathless and feeling as if time had slowed to a crawl as Red stared up at him, holding onto the doll in his arms tightly. “The portal is open, and those whose threads of life had been sewn back together are now being shredded with gleeful carelessness.”

Ding made a noise, his eyes wide. “…s-so…why..are you here?”

Like that the ethereal frightening visage Red held broke, and he was once more a teenager as he pouted, looking at the door again. “We’ll have to move. I wanted to see Blue before we go away.” Ding blinked, his eyes aching as if he had held them open for hours.

“W-Wait, what? Move? Why?”

“Once a pact is broken, it is unable to be repaired,” Red explained, staring at the door again. “Father’s been through this many times. Once the town realizes their mistake, they will either harass him until they anger with his declining, or they will believe him to be the root of it all. Either way, they will run us out of town, and the pact cannot protect us from it.”

Ding nodded dumbly. What could he really say in the face of that? “I’m…sorry, Red. I didn’t know you would all have to move.” He frowned for a moment. “W-Wait your father said…I was some kind of defense?”

“Yes,” Red mumbled morosely, although Ding felt it was more because Blue had yet to appear. “What comes, comes, but Father has a sharp temper when fools act the way they do.” He shot a glance at Ding. “He’s soft on you though. If you said so, he would leave without burning the town to the ground.”

Oh.

That was.

Something.

Red perked up and then the heavy door swung open, Blue dashing out and nearly bowling Red over. “OH SOR-RED!” He squeaked, catching him up in a happy hug. Red patted his shoulder sweetly.

“Hello, Blue.”

And that’s how he had Red and Blue in the backseat of his car, them whispering between themselves, over one thing or another. Papy had a tag-along as well, the older brother who just shrugged at Ding when they got in. Ding sighed. How did he become a chauffeur? “I guess I have to take you boys on home huh?”

Red nodded and Edge grumbled. Blue whined, “AW DAD! CAN’T WE HAVE A SLEEPOVER OR SOMETHING!”

“No, Blue, their father doesn’t even know they’re out and about I bet!” Ding reached back, patting Blue’s head as he knew Blue had leaned in between the seats to plead his case. “Another time perhaps.”

Blue pouted, but Red tugged him back, lacing their hands together. Blue smiled happily, settling in his seat.

Ding should have known when he drove through the open gate that something bad would happen. With his luck, it always did. He didn’t notice how the gate had caught on a rock, or the stirrings through the town, or how the wind started to lift up and ruffle the leaves of the trees. He should have.

He really should have.

It would have saved the others.

——————————————————————

The car slowed down in front of the massive mansion, and the kids hurried in, Edge dragging Papy by his sleeve and chattering about his new C4 caps. Red just led Blue inside easily, letting Blue talk for the both of them. Ding sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face as he stood in the doorway, not entering yet. “Gaster! Doctor, where-”

“Here.”

Gaster appeared in front of him with an easy smile…but he seemed paler, was he sweating? Ding hesitated before he started to speak, “You can’t let them run you out of town! That’s unfair!”

Gaster shrugged. “What is fair is not often thought about. I must do what is needed of me for my family. I’m merely a few steps ahead of the town in this instance.”

Ding groaned, throwing his arms down. “For stars’ sake, you don’t really think they’ll come up and start threatening you! Right? They’re…well we can appeal to their better nature, I’m sure!”

Gaster raised an eyebrow. “We?”

Ding flushed, stammering something out while Gaster tilted to the side, looking over Ding’s shoulder. “Hm. Spoke too soon.”

Ding gave him a questioning look before he turned around as well. Through the open gate was a crowd of people, not a lot, but enough that they could surround the house possibly to keep them from leaving. They seemed to be riled up, a few of them ripping at the dying trees on the path, some of them throwing rocks into the distance. Ding sucked in a breath. “Oh no.”

Gaster just stared, then he reached out to grip Ding’s arm. “Come in.”

“No, wait, if we talk with them I’m sure-” Ding tried to plead, his feet planted firmly on the porch.

Until something shattered on the grass in front of his car, and a small fire bloomed from it, crackling angrily. They had weapons, and they weren’t afraid to use them.

…but Ding still thought he could talk some sense into them. So Gaster stood with him on the porch, the door locked to keep the children safe, as they awaited the angry mob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an angry mob tends to bring people together. Also fear. Also seeing Ding in that sweater vest like dAMN
> 
> wonder if Ding can stop them. He IS their last line of defense. boy
> 
> oh
> 
> boy
> 
> (no this isn't the end I have much much more planned mwahahaha)


	8. Moving Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unexpected happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yasssss

When Gaster was young, small enough he barely stood to his mother’s knee, a scenario not unlike the one in front of him had played out. His parents standing stout on the porch as a crowd growing restless threw question after question at them.

Was this revenge? How were they doing this? Magic? Were they this cruel, to attack neighbors and friends?

‘Do friends prevent you from doing your duty?’ his father asked, and yet they chose not to answer.

From his viewpoint near the window, Gaster had never been more frightened, seeing his parents and what was once friendly neighbors standing in a face-off. It was horrible. It was devastating.

And he had never wanted that for his own children.

Well. Times changed, sadly. People became more modern, believing they were above the magicks and defenses their ancestors so pleaded for. Pathetic.

He didn’t listen really, when Ding tried to argue for his and his childrens’ safety. No, he was watching the crowd. This home was his, and he didn’t want it to erupt into flames or be ripped apart like the lighthouse he lived in during his teen years. 

Gaster tuned back in when Ding took a step back with wide eyes at something someone said, but before he could respond, the man in front-the sheriff who had begged and pleaded for his puppy to be saved as a young child-arched his arm back to throw the bottle that held a cloth on fire in it.

“No, wait-!”

Gaster prepared for the shattering of glass and something of his to erupt on fire. But no. When the sheriff started to throw, the glass burst in his hand, lighting his hand then arm on fire. He shrieked, waving it wildly to try and put it out. Gaster watched in amusement-Ding, in horror-as one person was bumped, stumbling and stepping on a rake that vaulted up into the air. It slammed back down onto Ding’s little car, where it was immediately shot into the sky by the engine exploding from the fire from before spreading underneath it and attacking the gas tank.

The crowd screamed and cried out as the forest around them burned, never touching past some barrier in the grass. Gaster reached over, grabbing Ding’s arm and dragging him in, locking the door behind them. 

Ding sucked in a breath, his hands shaking. “I-I…that was…my fault, wasn’t it,” he mumbled. The chain of events that happened was honestly a one in a million chance…and with Ding’s bad luck, that hiked the chances up to…one in one. Gaster raised an eye ridge, letting him go as he stalked over to his usual armchair, taking a seat.

“Fault? Not something I’d say. But yes I do believe your bad luck saved them all from a harsher punishment.”

Ding flinched, slowly sitting on the couch as he opened his mouth, trying to talk. “What-that, that was bad enough! What are we going to do, the fire will get us next and…”

Gaster slid his hand over to a side table, and flicked what had appeared to be the switch for the lamp on it.

The house began to shake.

Gaster gave Ding a soft smile. “I suggest you rest, you look pale, and I don’t believe you’ll like what happens too well.”

Rest sounded nice. Passing out sounded even better.

—————————————————————————————————

Red had dragged Blue out onto his window ledge. It had a bit of an edge to it due to Red’s love of sitting on it to watch the stars during the night. Blue held onto him tightly, eyes wide as the world around them shifted, high in the sky on stilts. “I-IT’S NEAT BUT UM, REALLY…SCARY???”

“Mm-hmm,” Red mumbled, leaning on Blue and letting him hold Red’s arm. “It can be.”

“HAVE YOU…MOVED A LOT?”

Red shook his head, eye lights flicking to him. “Father talks about his time as a child often. How he had to move as often as the seasons change.” His eye lights flicked back out, the burning forest of what once held their home dying out behind them in the distance. “Brother always wanted to travel,” he sighed. Blue frowned, hugging him sweetly. 

“I’M SORRY…AT LEAST WE’RE TRAVELING TOGETHER!” he chirped. Red blinked, then smiled at him softly.

“There is that. Want to play Tea with Cthulu again?”

“YEAH!”

Cthulu was Red’s pet octopus, and having tea with him meant telling each other frightening stories until the octopus climbed onto one of them to declare them the victor. Blue had never played such a game! It was pretty great! Even if Cthulu was a little slimy…

Edge, meanwhile, was busy teaching Papy how to fence, both of them wearing roller skates as the house shook around them. Papy dodged the flaming sword, frowning. “I mean, it’s weird, right? But like. Where are ya gonna go?”

Edge shrugged, jumping over the shocking blade with ease. “DUNNO. FATHER’S NEVER MOVED US. BUT THERE’S ALWAYS A TOWN IN NEED. MAYBE SOMEWHERE NEAR AN OCEAN!” he chirped brightly.

Papy snickered. “I went to the beach once, a lot of the shells were broken and tried to cut my feet.”

“EXACTLY WHY I WANT TO GO! IT SOUNDS LIKE A MAGNIFICENT BATTLEFIELD!” Edge’s eye lights turned into stars like how Blue’s did and Papy rolled his eyes, chuckling. Eh, he never saw it that way, but sure. That sounded like fun, at least.

“Yeah okay. What about us though?”

“DUH, YOU’LL LIVE HERE, WHY WOULDN’T YOU?”

——————————————————————————————————

Mrs. Florenstine hummed a jaunty tune as she puttered around her garden. Today she took to wearing her straw hat and her long green dress given to her by her grandchild. What a beautiful boy, always thinking of her. She held one hand up to hold her shawl together, leaning over with the gardening can, her hand shaking as it dripped water onto her peonies. “There we are, lovelies, look at ye,” she crooned. She’d lived here all her life, and everyone knew her by her beautiful peonies and her little puppy Toto.

After a few moments, a boom sounded, and the earth rocked under her, but she paid no mind to it. She could barely hear the boom, and she was already unsteady as it was, so it didn’t seem off to her. What did surprise her was Toto bounding out of the kitchen through the sliding door, yapping and whimpering as he scampered around her legs. “Oh Toto, darling, shush now,” she smiled, slowly putting the watering can down. “What is it? The mailman again? He didn’t bring treats did he?”

Toto was so spoiled.

There was a ring at her doorbell and she shuffled to grab her cane. “Who could that be this time of day…not the children, it’s school time, innit?” As she shuffled into the kitchen, Toto whimpering and chasing around her, she adjusted her glasses and leaned in close to the calendar, then to the clock on the stove. Yes yes, it was three in the afternoon, a school day. Mrs. Florenstine leaned to pat her shaking hand on Toto’s head. “Calm yerself now, dearie. Probably a salesman. They often have such lovely things.”

Toto hopped up onto her ‘vintage’ couch (her daughter called it vintage, she wasn’t sure what that meant), trembling as he curled up tightly into the corner of it. Poor thing. Perhaps he was out of water…the bell rang again and she tutted. “Hold a mo’, I’m on me way!” she called, the cane tapping down the hall as she walked. She paused at the door, hesitating. Her daughter told her often to check to see who it was, not to invite every ‘John and Jane’ in. The world, she said, is just too horrible now, and there was no telling who would be at the door.

Mrs. Florenstine was a kindly lady, however. Perhaps, one day, that would be her undoing, but for now she leaned to look through the window at the top of her door. It looked like…a skeleton? Ach, must be one of those monsters! Right? For a moment she was confused on why they were here, before suddenly reminding herself of the present day, how they were more at ease with interacting with humans than they did so long back.

She slowly unlocked her door, opening it with a smile. “How can I help ye?”

The man stood at her door in a tweed sweater vest-oh how he reminded her of her Harold-and he cleared his throat, smiling at her nervously. “Y-Yes, pardon me, but we’ve just recently become neighbors and I’ve always believed new neighbors should interact!” He held a cake tray with brownies inside and rainbow topping. She made an ‘aww’ noise, adjusting her shawl as she took the tray.

“Mighty nice of ye. Didn’t know we had neighbors movin’ in. If ye don’t mind comin’ round in the morning, love, I’m much more speedy than this ol’ crackly thing.” She laughed and he smiled, nodding.

“Of course! Don’t worry about the tray either, we have plenty!” He waved, hopping down her steps with his own jaunty tune and she waved him on, leaning around the post on her porch.

There was a large mansion right smack dab on the empty lot that used to exist right next door.

…huh. That was new.

Toto barked and she tutted, turning around to shuffle back in. “Yes yes, I’m comin’ ta feed ye, hungry pup.” Ah well. New neighbors meant she could knit some gifts for them! How fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Ding so okay with everything now? Well
> 
> he's not, not exactly, he's really nervous, but like. he's kind of 'okay well we're...here now, better make the most of it!'
> 
> (also he may be in a bit of shock and stress-cooked mmmkaaaay)
> 
> What happens now?
> 
> So many things. So. Many. Things.


	9. The Effects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ding's getting...used to things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's not doing it very well, though.

Ding was pretty sure Doctor Gaster was trying to give him a soul attack.

It wasn’t the whole ‘house literally walking out of the ground’ thing that did it. No. It was hesitantly opening the front door to retrieve the paper in their new town-called Galestown if he recalled-and noticing that his car, the one he was pretty sure had been exploded into a fireball, was sitting cheerily in the driveway near the gnarled old tree.

The same tree back at Gaster’s house.

Ding was pretty certain he was trying to drive him insane. Somehow. Some way. 

But he was also grateful as it appeared that somehow all their important belongings were inside. His sons’ baby books, Papy’s favored hoodies, Blue’s scarves and a few family photos he kept close.

He was very perplexed. So very perplexed.

The thing about mortals, you see, is their increasingly amazing ability to sweep the unnatural and unexplained into a neat little square that explained things to them, and going about their day. But there was nothing about this he could file into an appropriate file in his mind, nor was what Gaster was doing in the basement.

When Ding had marched down to demand an explanation (and thank him kindly for retrieving all the precious memories, of course), he was stunned to see a giant bubbling cauldron and Gaster reading through a book slowly, humming to himself. “…um…”

“Ah, Ding,” he rumbled, his eye lights swinging up as he smiled at Ding. “I hope my attempt at easing the transition was accepted. Moving is such a chore,” he mumbled, leaning back over the tome. A magic hand slid by Ding’s head, and poured weird little bits into the cauldron. Ding blinked.

“U-Uh, yes, thank you,” he stuttered out, blinking as the cauldron turned pink for a moment. “What ah, what is this?” Gaster hummed softly, a hand dipping a ladle in and stirring it clockwise, the pink swirling with white streaks. 

“My half of the pact.”

Ding frowned for a moment. “B-But I thought, we left, right?”

“Yes, but for here,” Gaster answered, the white overtaking the pink slowly. “You see, there’s always someone in each town who knows of us, and they will without fail come searching in order to make an agreement.” 

One hand dropped some leaves into the cauldron, in which a cloud puffed up, making the water turn red for a second. Ding slowly nodded. “Oh. Um. And you have to be prepared, I take it?”

“Indeed. Otherwise this would take much longer.”

Ding nodded again, watching the movements for a moment. “…soooo what does it do?”

Gaster looked up, the grin on his face looking more like a sickle cut across wheat than an actual grin. “I’m so glad you asked.”

———————————————————————————

A mumbled conversation. A glint of a knife. Prick. Drop of blood into the water. Bubbles and clouds of steam. Vile ugly gray liquid in a vial. A hurried shuffle out of the mansion. Down the walkway. Out of the gate. Shuffling, shuffling, blocked from sight. Hood drawn down. Car. Drive. Get out. Unlock door to water sanitation system. Find where it ends. Dump the vial of gray liquid into the drinking water. 

A sizzle. A small shrieking noise.

Nothing. It’s done.

Leave. Go home. Drink a tumbler of scotch. Wait for the day.

———————————————————————————

Ding sighed as he finished making breakfast. Cooking was always a great stress reliever for him. His boys had already tromped downstairs, sitting at the surprisingly cozy dining room table and jostling each other playfully. Gaster’s boys were across from them. Red still held a doll, although he seemed to be flicking through a bound journal. Edge, on the other hand, was using a wrench to do…something on some metal thing.

He made a noise when Ding tugged it from his grasp. “Now now, it’s time to eat! You can play later!”

“AW, COME ON!”

“Son,” Gaster’s voice came as he rounded the doorway to the basement. His face was…surprisingly drawn and grayish, as if he hadn’t slept in days. “Don’t kick up a fuss, now. It’s time to eat.”

Ding nodded, smiling at Edge who pouted when he put the metal thing in one of the seats nearby. “Yes, eat for now! You all…well I guess not all, have to sign up for school, huh?”

Red just blinked at him as Edge dug into the large stack of pancakes Ding passed to him. “We are schooled at home.” Blue pouted from where he was pouring on syrup on his own food.

“AWWW, BUT WE COULD HAVE FUN AT SCHOOL! LIKE! BASKETBALL!” Blue chattered on about all the ‘cool things’ they could do. Papy sleepily at his own food, yawning as Gaster chuckled, shaking his head as he took a seat at the end of the table, his hands slipping from their sleeves to clasp together on the table.

“Perhaps, that would be a wonderful learning adventure,” he spoke, smiling. Red gave him an odd look while Edge grunted. Ding quickly nodded, a finger pointing up.

“Oh yes! It’s been proven in studies children need socalizing! Besides, what harm could it do?”

What harm, indeed.

Besides, he and Gaster had to talk about his sudden and spontaneous move, since he’d invested a little money in the move. Enough that had he to do it again, it would put a very awful strain on his family. So, you know, they had to talk. Away from little ears.

Well. Not so little. But he always thought of his children as still the little boys who toddled around. My, how he missed those years.

He was surprised when Gaster handed him a set of keys on their way out. “This is to my vessel,” Gaster explained. “I need some rest, so I’ll let you all have some fun without me.” Ding would’ve argued, but that slice of a smile appeared and…he was weirdly drawn in by it, nodding dumbly as Gaster turned and slid back into the home.

The ‘vessel’ as Gaster called it was a literal hearse. Ding nervously started it up, clearing his throat as he looked in the rearview at Red. “Your um, dad, never drove from what I saw?”

“You wouldn’t have.” Red gave him a mysterious smile, eerily reminiscent of Gaster’s. So much so Ding instantly dropped the conversation and returned his eyes to the road. Blue was having the time of his life sitting near Red, while Edge and Papy fought over the use of the window so much he had to lock it down.

Ah, boys. So energetic. It made him feel warm, recalling his own boyhood adventures as a youngster, as they drove down and out of the gate, never seeing the gate opening and closing on its own. As usual.

————————————————————————

The boys had spread out after Ding had went to the front office to sign them up for school. Papy told Edge they needed to find an AV clubroom, and after explaining it meant they could video tape ‘cool stuff’, Edge was up for it. Blue wanted to find the gym, and while he wanted to race down the empty halls, he had to settle for walking quietly beside Red, who laced their fingers together as they walked.

The gym smelled of sweat and heat. It was large, with wooden bleachers, basketball goals on either side. A volleyball court painted on the floor that was very slick. Balls and jump ropes were on the side wall, two locker rooms beside an office. Red sniffed. “Hm. Interesting.”

Blue had stars in his eyes, hugging Red eagerly. “IT’S GLORIOUS! WE CAN RUN AND PLAY BASKETBALL AND THEN MAYBE DODGEBALL!!!”

Red reached up with one hand, cupping Blue’s chin and making him blush bright. “Blue, darling. I have a delicate constitution.”

Blue blinked, nodding quickly. “U-UH HUH. WHAT’S THAT MEAN?”

“You shall have to exercise for the both of us,” Red smiled cheerily. “I shan’t break a sweat in my pinafore, that’s a horrid way of doing things. I’ll merely have to cheer you on from the sidelines.”

Blue laughed nervously, nodding again against Red’s hand. “O-OKAY! UM, BUT, YOU LIKE THE…SENBON STUFF? ISN’T THAT…EXERCISE?”

Red gave him a sharp grin, tilting his head slowly. “Oh dear, if you do things right, you’ll never be seen nor out of breath. Now, come, show me more of this gym.”

Blue perked up, racing around and pointing out similarities between the old school and this new one. Red watched him with a dreamy smile, tucking his doll close in his arms.

The head was half melted. Into a heart, of course.

————————————————————————

The people of Galestown had no knowledge of the new doctor. Not the day before. Not yesterday. And not today. But the next day, they knew him. They knew that he would help those who needed it in horrifying circumstances. They knew he lives on the hill with his children and who they assumed was his husband. They knew he always knew when someone needed his assistance.

They knew this as if the knowledge had always been there. As if they grew up knowing this man and the children and his husband.

That’s just the way things worked. That’s always been the way things worked. Sadly in previous years it was more…hit or miss, but they had perfected it over the years.

It…also worked on Ding, in a way. He always thought ‘I should talk to Gaster about my old home’, and by the time ten o’clock hit, he’d have forgotten the need to go and talk to him. Gaster didn’t implement this, truly. It was, unfortunately, part of Ding’s bad luck.

After signing the children up for school, he enlisted their help in unpacking the little car. Red, of course, didn’t help, merely perched on the banister of the porch with his parasol. The others did, Papy slowly taking things in while Blue and Edge raced to cart boxes in or try and pull some race or another. Ding scolded them for running with breakables, but honestly he was a little thrilled they were getting along so well.

Gaster came out of hiding when lunch was made, and he still looked…sickly in a way. He assured Ding all was well, he was merely getting used to ‘everything’. Fair. Still didn’t take away the worry.

Honestly? He should be angry that Gaster had uplifted him and his family from their new home. But. He just wasn’t. Something told him that things wouldn’t be good should they go back. Plus…he…was just drawn to the doctor, in a way. He couldn’t understand it, yet, so he buried himself in cleaning up and getting the boys to clean up.

He didn’t have to ask Red. It seemed he kept things very spotless when he passed by. ‘One should never leave evidence of their comings and goings,’ Red informed him.

That’s um. Yeah okay.

Ding sighed that night, staring in the mirror of the bathroom of the guest room he had had to take. He plunked his head against the mirror, sighing harder. “What am I even doing?”

What a great question.

Too bad he didn’t have an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding's being affected by the magic. Gaster doesn't exactly know this, since it's never affected him nor his family in the past. Blue and Papy aren't affected, or at least they don't know that they are. Ding's wrestling with the memory of moving with the memory being impressed upon the town, that they've always lived there.
> 
> So. I'm. Messing with his mind. Whoopsie.
> 
> Hey so like I can't recall if I read this or nah but I distinctly recalled a fic/RP or something I read where Gaster was like. With Asgore and Sans and Papyrus were his kids maybe but Asgore was *eeeviiiil* so Gaster fled with the babes and ended up in Undertale (was a Fell I think) anyway met a good Asgore, cute baby stuff
> 
> I thought about it today. 
> 
> anyway! That's it. I might get another out but today's been whack >< buuuut I'll work on more tomorrow ;P


	10. A Man In The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A guest arrives, but not for long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I greatly suggest playing the little snap song of the original Addams at the end, really brings it all together~

“There’s a man in the woods.”

Ding whistled as he flipped the pancake, nudging at it with a spatula, wearing that ruffled apron that demanded a kiss. “What was that, Red? Sorry, I couldn’t hear!”

Red’s eyes never strayed from the open window where he sat on a stool, holding Cthulu in his arms as the octopus squeezed around him in a hug. “Nothing, sir. You were saying?”

“Ah, yes, about Blue! Yes we’ll have to get some athletic wear, and…” Ding chattered on as Red stroked the head of his pet. The others had yet to get, a storm seemed on the horizon and Red politely informed Ding that this made his family often tired.

He, on the other hand, adored watching the the pouring rain and booming drums of the land.

Ding smiled at him and encouraged his love of nature, then started talking about all the things they had to buy for the upcoming school year.

Oh yes, thought Red, there’s a man in the woods…but would he be brave enough to come closer?

————————————

Stupidly, yes.

There was a knock at the door during the beginnings of the storm, Red peering over the lip of the window in interest while Ding placed a bookmark in his book. “Oh? Who could that be?” Everyone they knew was here at home, Gaster was busy doing something up in Edge’s room (by the sound of the booms, he was spending some bonding time with him, which was good to hear!), and Papy and Blue were setting up a board game to play with Red in a moment.

Blue shrugged from his position on his stomach, nudging a few pieces into place. “I DUNNO, DAD. SCHOOL?” Papy snickered.

“Why would the school come here?”

“I DUNNO!”

Ding shook his head, chuckling as he got up, patting Papy’s head as he passed. “I doubt it but let’s see! Red, can you-”

“You better open it.” Was his answer, to which he just nodded. Red was very…well, he was much like his father with an air of mystery. Gaster just couldn’t put his finger on it. Definitely someone to listen to.

At their door was a ragged human man, clothed in slightly wet clothes, his jacket torn at the sleeve. He had a bedraggled look to him, his beard scraggly and hair pointed out every way under his beanie. He looked lost and a little tired. “H-Hello there, yes, you see, the storm…” He pointed behind him at the rolling clouds. “…came outta nowhere, an’ I was almost home…”

Ding gasped, opening the door wider. “Oh you poor man! Come in, come in, it’s bound to be a horrible storm tonight.”

When the man came in, and the door shut, Red was suspiciously missing from his usual spot. Instead, Gaster stepped down the stairs, smiling softly. “We have a guest?”

Ding turned, smiling back as he nodded. “Yes! He got rained out, this is…sir, I didn’t get your name?”

The man fiddled with the edge of his jacket, looking between them. “…Samuel, sorry, been a long day.”

Ding nodded. “I understand. Ah! How about some soup? Boys, move a little, let him through,” he shooed Blue and Papy from the couch a little, to make room for the man to sit. Gaster took his normal seat, his cloak spilling over it like ink as he cupped his hand over his own cheek, staring at Samuel with the strange smile. 

“Soup sounds lovely, Ding.”

Ding shot him a happy grin, clapping. “Okay then! Just give me a second, and I’ll bring some!” And off he went, leaving the four to the quiet of the room, and the ticking of a clock. Blue and Papy kept looking over at the man, who jumped when Gaster started to speak.

“Out in the storm, hm? I can admire a man who revels in nature as my own child does.”

Samuel seemed to laugh, albeit it was covered up by a hacking cough, and he bobbed his head. “…m-mind if I use your bathroom? Been a long day, like I said.”

“Hm, yes, of course,” Gaster used his other hand to wave at Blue. “Blue dear, lead him up the stairs, then let the man to his business.”

“YESSIR,” Blue groaned under his breath, not really wanting to do it, but he got up anyway, sticking his tongue at Papy who snickered. “THIS WAY, SIR!” The man stood up slowly, following behind Blue and limping as if each step was a weight on him. The bathroom was just around the corner of the stairs, and Blue quickly left after Samuel went inside.

Samuel waited a second, then stepped out, huffing. “Fucking finally,” he growled out, shaking his head. That fake coughing fit made his throat hurt, dammit. The outfit felt scratchy and he couldn’t wait to get home and wash off the dirt he smeared on his face and toss the beanie…after shaving his beard.

There’d been rumors of the mansion, he was surprised they had no security, or that they easily let him in. Ah well, if you were too stupid to let it happen, then you were just letting your valuables go.

He whistled softly as he stepped through the hall, slipping a squished knapsack out of the back of his pants. Hmm, paintings, no…a gold candlestick, sure. He tried a doorknob of one door, but something inside growled and he booked it down the hall. No way was he getting bit by a damn dog today.

He found one room, looked normal, grabbed up what looked like a wedding ring, a pair of small brass cufflinks (about fifty bucks, not too shabby)…there was a small piggy bank stashed away in the top of the closet, and on the side it said ‘Blue’. Must’ve been that kid’s or something. He pulled out the stopper-he wasn’t that horrible to break it-and took out all the change. Every bit helped, after all.

Oh. On his way out, there was a gold coin stuck to the underside of the door knob. He wedged his fingernail under it, peeling it free. Didn’t look like a dollar coin, had a weird image on it…he shrugged, stashing it in his pocket as he kept going.

He paused near one door with CAUTION tape on it, ‘NO ONE ALLOWED’ written in marker. He slowly opened it, letting out a breath as no one was in there. But it looked like a damn war room, bombs of all kinds, pipe bombs, what the hell was that?! A nuke?!

He cursed, quickly shutting the door. Nope, whatever treasure here wasn’t worth getting blown up for, he had enough. He folded up the knapsack, quickly turning and rushing the other way…

…the rug had a small lump on it, and he tripped, catching himself just in time as he held onto a table, gasping at the sudden event. “What the hell…” he was sure it was smooth before…wait…

Another room. This one had a large beautiful rose on it, and had the word ‘Red’ in curly words under it. It was obviously well cared for, and had Samuel been a romantic, perhaps he would have assumed it the mother of the children’s room or something. But he wasn’t, but he knew that this door…had something good behind it.

He opened it, freezing as he saw a skeleton child standing in the middle of the room in a black dress, his back to Samuel.

Oh. Shit.

He gulped, hiding the knapsack behind his back. “S-Sorry there, kiddo,” he stuttered out, going back to his ‘poor old man’ schtick. “Was looking for the bathroom.”

…the kid didn’t move, his back barely moving as he breathed. Samuel sucked in a breath. Shitshitshit. Was the kid dying? Was he mad? About to scream. He took a step back. “I-I’ll just leave you alo-”

“Get. Out.”

Samuel froze, as if something icy slid into his joints and kept him there. “…wh-wh-what?” He could get out. He could. Out of the room, down the stairs, he could. He just couldn’t move.

Then the skull slowly turned around in place, the eye sockets empty and melting, his mouth opening wider with black ink leaking from it. “GET OUT!!!!!” Something dark and menacing overtook the background, shattering the lights and pitching the room in darkness.

Finally Samuel got his feet under him and he scrambled away, dropping the knapsack with a scream as he ran for it. Something grabbed his ankle, something that was cool and pulsing and felt like…a weird fog, and then he was tripping down the stairs, grabbing onto the railing just in time before he hit the porcelain floor.

No one was in the living room. He gasped and panted, staring ahead with a pale face, shaking as he sat there until Ding popped into view. “Samuel! You took a while, are you alr-”

“I’m leaving! I’m sorry! I’m going!” He screamed, scrambling up as he leaned away from Ding’s hand. Ding frowned, pulling his hand back.

“Huh? Did something happen?”

‘Did something happen’ yes it fucking did! But before he could answer he could hear the clicking of heels, and the cool pulsing fog slither up against his back. He shrieked, booking it and pushing past Ding, tripping against the front door before dashing out and letting it bang behind him as the storm winds blew.

Ding frowned, staring after him before looking back at Red. “Red, you didn’t tell him a scary story did you?”

Red, dressed in his darling black pinafore (honestly he had gorgeous taste, Ding really wanted to go shopping for him soon) and holding Cthulu, shrugged, his eye lights darting up to Ding as he stepped down the stairs. “No, not really.”

Ding hummed, reaching down out of instinct to take Red’s hand like he did when the kids were young, Red allowing it. “What happened then?”

“I think he’s allergic to calamari.”

Ding nodded slowly as Red nuzzled Cthulu’s head, letting the octopus slap a tentacle to his cheek. “Well, when one has allergies, one must be proactive. Come, soup is good for days like this!”

“Agreed.”

Ding didn’t see Red’s eyes flash darkly as he looked out the open door, and as they turned, a dark shadow shot out…and gently closed it and locked it, to prevent water ruining the foyer’s wooden floors. Red hummed, turning back around and they headed to the kitchen to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What IS Red? Who knows. Not me. A chaotic entity that Gaster adopted? Most likely.
> 
> Maybe the guy was just going insane, that's possible too.
> 
> =) anyway! I loved the episode of the original series where they just invite these guys in, they're burglars and they're like 'aaayyyy' lmao.
> 
> Now, to figure a way to hook up Gaster and Ding. They really need to get to kissing >>


	11. Gaster's Grand Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster's plan to woo the other adult skeleton is fool proof, fool proof I say!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It really isn't.

It was high time, Gaster believed, to show his true intentions to Ding.

By that, he began by making them both a cup of tea in the afternoons. A ‘thank you’ and a smile were his gifts, and he felt emboldened to proceed further.

Which is how Ding woke up with a sheep looking as confused as he was, digging at the wood of the floor with a hoof. “…Gaster…” he mumbled sleepily. “Why is. Why is there a sheep.”

Gaster seemed to puff up, his hand on top of the sheep’s back, somehow holding it in place. “It is yours, of course.” He started doing this thing, too. This…’purring’ thing, and looking Ding over. Ding felt as if he was being measured for something. For what, he wasn’t sure.

Ding blinked sleepily, adjusting his glasses on his face. “For. For what? The boys don’t have any need for a sheep.”

Gaster frowned. “Ah. You believe they should be tended to first. I agree.” The smile was back, even as he nudged the sheep to the side. “Not to worry, of course, I shall ensure they are taken care of.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ding mumbled, not sure what Gaster was on about, but it meant going back to bed from being awoken at 4 in the morning. It wasn’t until he was halfway through cooking breakfast that he realized what had went on, and he pointed the spatula at an amused looking Gaster. “You woke me up! And tried to give me a sheep??”

“I did. And yes.”

Red and Edge looked bored with the whole event, albeit Blue perked up. “A SHEEP?! AW, DAD, CAN WE SEE?? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-” Blue would never cease as he knew how to pull out the puppy dog eyes. Gaster chuckled, his elegant hand cradling a cup of suspiciously smoking ‘tea’.

“I’ve allowed the creature to graze out back, in the meanwhile, go have fun.”

Ding cleared his throat when Blue went to jump up. “After breakfast! But no, wait, why! That’s more important!”

Gaster just took another sip of his drink slowly for a moment, then placed his cup down on top of the small plate. “Isn’t it obvious?”

No, no it really wasn’t. Ding made a noise, while Edge groaned. “EW, GROSS,” he grumbled, huffing when Red dug his elbow into his side.

“I rightly think it’s sweet,” he mumbled, his eyes flicking to Blue with a pout. Blue, for what it was worth, seemed oblivious as he dug into his food, intent on going to see the sheep. Red sighed, mumbling something about oblivious boys. Ding felt for him, it was cute, the little puppy crush that Blue had…but he was…easily distracted.

Wait no, this was about the random sheep that Gaster brought into their-uh, the-home. “I’d still like an explanation!” 

Gaster seemed more amused than anything when Ding waved the spatula again, merely standing with ease. “I must go and attend to something. Perhaps later, dear Ding.”

“Oh, very well,” he huffed. “But later for certain!”

“For certain,” the doctor echoed, and off he slid away deep into the home once more.

———————————————————————

Deep in a bubbling cauldron, dark black tentacles slid out. Two of them prodded and poked around, gripping onto the edge tightly. They moved within, making a small splattering noise as something bulbous rose free of the cauldron. A longer tentacle slid to the ground, another plopping beside it. A raspy voice echoed, “_WHO DAAAAAARES-_”

The light flickered on, and Ding stood there, unamused, holding a bucket of…something. “Gaster, would you please,” he huffed, then held up the bucket. “What is this?”

The dark tentacled being seemed to somehow morph into the form he was used to, instead of tentacles it was the black inky doctor suit, and he sat on the edge of the cauldron, one leg bent up as he stared at Ding with a blink. “Ah, you found it.”

“ ‘Ah, you found it’ is not the response I was expecting out of you,” Ding frowned. “Why is there a bucket of picked clean bones, and why were they on my bed?”

Gaster frowned. “You don’t like them.”

“I don’t know where they came from!”

“Oh that’s easy,” Gaster slid his leg down, easily standing on the ground with his hands laced in front as when he usually stalked around the home or the town. “Critters.”

Ding sputtered. “Critters?! Why?!”

“To show hunting prowess.”

Ding’s mind sputtered as he equated it to a cat dropping a dead rat at your feet with a bright grin. He shook his head, shaking the bucket at Gaster. “No! No no, no more!”

Gaster nearly, very nearly, pouted. “No?”

“Bones attract bugs and! It’s disgusting!” He sighed at the definitely pouting look he got, putting the bucket down at his side. “Look, just, put them somewhere besides my room, okay? Perhaps outside, make little…ornaments from them, something besides my bed!”

“Very well,” Gaster soured out, frowning as he took the bucket. Ding nodded. Well. That seemed to be that, at least.

For now.

——————————————

More weird things went on. Gaster kept getting closer and closer to him, which wasn’t too odd, except he’d shadow Ding around the kitchen while he cooked. Red and Edge seemed aloof to the whole thing, albeit Edge kept making faces at them. It seemed that whatever it was, they had told his own children about it as well, as Blue would start giggling and hide his face while Papy made the same faces as Edge.

Strange.

The ‘gifts’ had lessened as well, albeit now Gaster was giving him cups of his favorite tea…and oddly folded flowers from paper which…Ding did keep, folding them into a journal he kept over the years. 

All the same, he decided to approach the boys to see if they knew what was going on. Edge made an ugly face and shut the door in his face, which, okay, fair. He was at that age, you know? Ding merely asked him to be nicer later and all he got was an echo of an explosion.

Red was far more open.

“Father is attempting to seduce you.”

A plop of some meaty mass slipped into Cthulu’s aquarium, which was then eagerly wrapped up and he seemed to squeeze it so tight, it bulged. Ding made a face, then shook his head. “Wait, what now? How do-”

“Father doesn’t woo,” Red murmured, flicking his fingers free of the blood before turning to Ding, tucking his arms around himself. “But you rebuffed him, and he was insulted. Then you accepted his gifts, and he was happier.”

Ding flushed brightly. Was that what all that was about? “O-Oh I had. No idea.”

“I know.” 

Ding bristled slightly. “Well, what should I do about it?”

Red blinked, not impressed in his blundering. “Whatever you please, I suspect. Father isn’t one to accept ‘no’, but he’s not a monster.”

Oh. Well then. ...well then.

This felt awkward, much more so considering it was Gaster’s son telling him all this. He nodded quickly, a flush on his face, as he spun around and quickly exited the room. “Then I sh-shall deal with it! Be good, no mortal wounds!”

“No promises,” Red whispered, his eyes trailing to the side with a small smirk at the small odd sarcophagus lying near his bed. It twitched, thumping a bit.

“No promises indeed.”

\-------------------------------

Just like before, Gaster’s odd form lurched from the bubbling cauldron, but before he could demand anything, Ding squirted him with a water gun. Gaster sputtered, reverting to his humanoid form. “Where did you get a water gun?!” he asked in confusion.

Ding rolled his eye lights. “Not important! You! You never ask anything, you just. Do! Maybe if you asked, perhaps you’d have an answer,” he ranted, a foot tapping on the rocks of the flooring. Gaster slowly slid forward during his rant, his eye lights bright as he nearly boxed Ding in to the wall, making him flush.

“That so? What, pray tell, would your answer be? Hm?” he purred out, a hand slipping up to Ding’s cheek. Ding gave him a flat look.

“Well now I don’t know, how about that? Hm?”

Gaster scoffed softly, shaking his head. “No need to play coy, dear~ just know what you’re getting into~”

A moment passed, and then a random electrical line-from nowhere, mind you-swung from the ceiling and struck Gaster in the back of the head, electrocuting him to the point he fell to the ground. He wasn’t knocked out, but Ding could see his eye lights pulsing in...pleasure? Ding snorted, hands on his hips as he looked down at Gaster, the electrical line somehow missing him entirely.

“I should say the same for you, ‘dear’. Now get cleaned up, it’s almost lunch!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaster can transform into his 'true' form but it takes a lot out of him. Also the cauldron is so a bath. Ding interrupting bath time ;) 
> 
> Sorry things are late, but I've moved everything to google docs so I can work at work (hah) on it all lmao. 
> 
> Why is Gaster trying to woo Ding? Well I mean. Have you seen the guy? That sweater vest, mm.
> 
> Why did Ding accept? Well. He's kind of. Touched, honestly. And while he doesn't exactly feel...close or romantic feelings for Gaster, right now, he...well it's been a long time since he's went on a date! Can't he have some fun?
> 
> And if it comes to love, then very well! But let the man be wooed! XD


	12. A Date Is Had

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster and Ding go on a date! This can't possibly go wrong!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL FANART
> 
> https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/post/610966550222094336/its-cherry-underfell-sans-and-cthulu-from#notes
> 
> b-baby

The second most romantic date Gaster had ever been on included a burning of a lake and several missing limbs. Not his own, of course.

The first had to be this one.

Gaster had found the most quaint little restaurant for him and Ding to bond at. Ding worried over the children-adorable, truly-but Red had assured them he would be in charge and take care of things.

Gaster wondered if his sons knew he knew they were there, hiding and prying in to spy on them. Ah well. It wouldn’t ruin his night, certainly.

The restaurant was nice, a lot of red on the carpets and walls. Very dashing. He reached out to a small wine glass, gripping it as he lifted it up, smiling at Ding. “It’s nice, yes?”

Ding had dressed up in one of his (cute) vests with a little bowtie on. He laughed softly, fiddling with a fork on the side. “I suppose. It’s a little quiet, I’m used to hearing the boys playing or the creaks of the house.”

Gaster nodded. “I agree, a little unsettling to be sure, but it is only for one night.”

Ding snorted, rolling his eye lights as he took up the wine glass as well, peeking inside curiously. “Hm, you have a point. What type of wine is this, again?”

Gaster launched into the history of the wine the waiter had procured, a history Gaster seemed oddly intimate with, regaling tales of old as Ding watched him. He wasn’t that curious about the wine, actually. In all reality, he didn’t care to drink. But there was something about how animated the doctor got compared to the skulking shadow he was used to seeing…

A few tables over, hidden behind a large hedge, Edge held his binoculars up as he watched them. “THEY’RE KIND OF BORING, I GUESS.” He popped back over to their side. Papy was flipping through a menu, intrigued, while Blue was fumbling with a glass of sparkling cider as Red instructed him on how to pour it.

Red tapped Edge’s wandering hand near the breadsticks and he hissed, pulling it back as the acid started to sting over his gloved hand. “Don’t fill up on breadsticks, we are having a _nice. dinner._” His eye lights flashed and Edge grumbled as he rubbed his hand.

Red had on a pale red and white pinafore while he had spruced Blue up in a ‘darling’ polo shirt and bowtie. Ew, they were so gross, making goofy faces at each other. Papy nudged him, tilting the menu. “Dude, they have this gargantuan burger, wanna split it?”

“DEPENDS, HOW MANY JALAPENO SLICES WILL THEY ALLOW US?” he leaned in with a frown as Papy snickered. 

“A thousand.”

“ACCEPTABLE.”

Blue finally finished pouring the sparkling cider with a sigh, grinning at Red who smiled back and pecked a kiss to his cheek. “Marvelous, darling. I’ll make a gentleman of you yet~”

Blue flushed, giggling. “O-OKAY~”

Edge made a face. “EW. STOP BEING GROSS, YOU DON’T SEE OUR DADS DOING THAT!”

“Hmm,” Red’s eye lights tilted to the side, a smirk on his face. “You might want to check now, dear brother.”

This time, Gaster had his hand over Ding’s on the table, still on the great 1845 incident in which three boxes of wine were lost, Ding’s face flushed lightly as he nodded away. Edge groaned, plopping back in the booth.

“IS THAT WHAT DATES ARE ABOUT THEN? GRODY.”

Papy snickered, flipping the menu idly. “Not entirely, there’s other date ideas and stuff.” Blue nodded as Red adjusted his hold on Blue’s hand, gripping the wine glass in the same manner as their father as he took a sip.

“YEAH! MOVIES, THE BEACH...UM…”

“The library,” Red added as Blue nodded faster.

“YES, THE LIBRARY!”

Edge didn’t seem amused. “BORING.” He looked at Papy with a scowl. “TAKE ME SOMEWHERE BETTER THAN THIS!”

Papy shrugged, not really paying attention. “Mmkay. Hockey rink?”

“IS THAT THE SPORT WITH THE KNIVES AND THE ICE?”

“...yes.”

“THEN I ACCEPT!”

“...wait what?”

Back at Gaster and Ding’s table, they finally received their meal. Ding had ordered a simple meatloaf, while Gaster’s...was questionable. It was charred to death-hah-with an odd red sauce spilled onto the meat. The corn looked...purple? And there seemed to be small balls of metal?

Ding wasn’t going to ask, he just averted his eyes to his plate as Gaster spooned up the balls of metal, crunching on them loudly...their hands still entangled. “Mm, so delicious. How is yours?”

“Good! Good, good, yes…” He used his one empty hand to slice at the meatloaf, taking a bite. It really was delicious, melting in his mouth, tasty and not at all slimy as it had appeared at first. He hummed, looking over at Gaster who was staring. Ding blushed. “W-What?”

Gaster gave a slow smile, his hand reaching up and startling Ding, only to feel his thumb swipe over the edge of Ding’s mouth. “You’re a tad messy, darling.”

“O-Oh.”

Could his face get any hotter? Absolutely not in all the ways.

Back at the boys’ table, Red was attempting to show Blue how to ‘properly’ cut the steak they had ordered-Blue’s was cooked thoroughly, but couldn’t stop watching as Red took a bite of his own, the blood slipping down his chin and creating a macabre image-while Edge and Papy fought over who got how many jalapeno slices.

They were deep in a saber war (the sabers were as small as Edge’s pinky finger, the only weapon Red allowed on the ‘date’), hissing at each other and grumbling. Red looked over at Blue, smiling at him and making him blush. “Darling. How is it?”

“G-GOOD!” Blue squeaked out, laughing nervously. “HOW’S Y-YOURS?”

“Exquisite~” 

It certainly looked that way, with how the bloody steak...pulsed a little. Blue felt curious but also a little revolted. Blood wasn’t something he wanted to taste...yet.

At Gaster and Ding’s table, Gaster had ordered a new wine to be brought, positively gushing over its flavor and age. Ding listened, nodding, still flushed as the waiter brought over the bottle…

Then he tripped on a shoelace, the wine bottle rocketing from his hands and smashing into another bottle a waiter held. The bottle, a champagne one, shot out the cork into the ceiling, jamming a ceiling fan and making it rock a little until it started to swing wildly. One of the blades of the ceiling fan cut a wire, and it swung down, dragging over the bush hiding the boys and lighting it on fire.

Red looked up, pausing. “Oh. Entertainment.”

Everyone started to scream and run out of the restaurant. Ding sighed, slumping his shoulders as the sprinklers started up, coating them in a fine mist, only for one of the sprinklers to break and start gushing over the entrance of the kitchen. “Oh. Bother.”

Gaster chuckled, watching it all happen with a maniacal grin, squeezing Ding’s hand. “How marvelous~”

“So you say,” Ding grumbled, plucking at his vest that was now wet and sticking to him. “The only water I like is in a bath.”

Gaster hummed, nodding. “Very well then, I suppose this means the date is over. Come, how about a walk?”

Ding sighed, nodding and chuckling as Gaster stood up, offering his hand. He took it, letting Gaster pull him up out of the chair, calm amongst the chaos. “Where to?”

Edge had a stick holding his burger over the flames, flickering in his eye sockets as he snickered. Papy watched the fire warily, scooting away as Blue gulped. “SH-SHOULDN’T WE LEAVE TOO?”

“You’re right, we might lose them,” Red tossed his napkin down, pecking Blue’s cheek then shooing him from the booth. “Brother, come, eat as you walk.”

“Why are we doing this again?” Papy asked as Edge walked over the table, hopping down from it and doing a roll, chewing into the now charred sandwich. Papy had his own half, slightly soggy but okay. 

Red laced his arm with Blue’s, a parasol popping into view above them. It was like the rain knew instinctively not to touch Red, as it arched away from him-and now, Blue. “Curiosity.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And to judge them if they have sex.”

Edge gagged, coughing. “EW, GROSS! I DON’T WANT TO SEE THAT!”

Papy quickly nodded in agreement as Red tutted. “Of course not, but if they attempted to in the public then a scolding is required.”

“WHAT ARE YOU, THEIR MOTHER?”

Edge and Red squabbled as they walked away from the now on fire restaurant. As they left through the door, a large pillar fell in the doorway.

Only fire lives there now.

\-----------------------

“I suppose it must be hard on them.”

They had walked towards the park, Ding now covered in a warm jacket instead of his wet soggy vest. He sat on a swing, Gaster leaning almost casually against the pole nearby. Their children, definitely not hidden nor silent, were ‘hiding’ behind a bench and chattering quite loudly. Gaster hummed. “I suppose.”

Ding sighed. “Well they’ve had you for years, by themselves. Might be hard to...see you date,” he mumbled, slowly swinging. Gaster nodded.

“What about your own sons?”

“They’re so easy going,” Ding chuckled, his hands on his knees, stabilizing himself on the swing. “They adapt better than I can to things.” He sighed. “I suppose it helps that they were...young when we lost their mother. Change is too easy for them.”

Gaster hummed, but didn’t answer. After a moment, Ding finally asked what had been bothering him for a while.

“What about their other parent?”

Gaster tilted his head, an oddity in the late night, the moon overhead and smiling down at them. “There is none.”

Ding laughed a bit nervously, rubbing his hand over his pant leg. “Ah, I know a little about biology now, so um…”

Gaster tilted his head again, staring at the bench ‘hiding’ their children for a long moment before he spoke. “My kind goes through something once every...few decades. I suppose you could say it’s something to do with eggs…” 

Ding flushed, clearing his throat as he nodded. “Okay…”

“One time, I noticed two little glowing ones. Now, as I can assure you, my kind is carnivorous so none of them went to waste-” Ding turned a little green at the thought. “But I looked at the glowing ones and I thought ‘my, look at that’. I couldn’t bring myself to eat them, and decided I would brave the decay smell once they faded just to have a little bauble for a while…

“And then they slowly grew, little eldritch abominations themselves. Of course, my parents had long since perished, so I had no one to ask, but...I took care of them. Did what I thought was right. And then they ripped out of their shells to wreak havoc on the world,” he gushed.

Ding...felt a little pity for Gaster. To wake up to something normal and find out you had two kids on the way. It had to be frightening, no matter how much Gaster seemed pleased with the outcome. He reached over, holding Gaster’s hand with a smile. “They’re fine boys, for sure.”

The smile he received was not as sharp as a sickle cut, but as soft as a slice of blueberry pie.

(Their boys had fallen asleep, ‘bored’ with them doing nothing, and somehow, they managed to cart them home without waking them up. Plus many many photos. So many photos.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I unexpectedly make Gaster the sub in this relationship?
> 
> Whoops
> 
> ...it's hot
> 
> Also can you imagine eldritch abomination Gaster freaking out at the idea that he just had TWO BABIES and is now having to figure out on his own how to make sure they don't die?!
> 
> Because I am
> 
> And it's cute
> 
> and sad


	13. The Beginning...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster finds two glowing things! How fun!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a skim over how Red and Edge came to be <3

This...had never happened before.

He tilted his head back and forth, a tendril sneaking by to prod at one of the small eggs.

No, it truly had never happened before. He would remember that.

He did recall the first time it happened, when he came into his maturity. He’d cried to his mother about his fears, but she shushed him and swept away tears. “Calm thyself,” she murmured, her own tendrils scooping a few of the round things up. “Tis just be thou growing older.”

“Truly?” he’d sniffled, like a toddler, and she nodded.

“Truly. When thine time comes to carry on the burden, thine will know what to do. For now, they are of no use.”

And then she showed him what to do with such useless things.

But now...now two of them were glowing. He’d already eaten all the rest-delicious, he’d be full for days!-but these two...well they had caught his eye. And his interest.

He looped a tendril around one, hefting it up. It was significantly larger than the other, and pulsed a deep pleasant red. Hmm. The other was small, like a little marble rather than a bird’s egg.

Hmmm.

Well. He hadn’t had anything to catch his interest in a while, and he hadn’t done anything ‘for himself’ in a while, either. So...he was going to keep them! That’s right! Even if they faded and molded and became useless, he’d keep them at least until his interest waned. Yes, a most fabulous idea!

He burbled happily, tucking the two into a little hole in his alcove, patting them both before slinking away. After all, he still had work to do…

\-------

Three weeks had passed, and rather than wilting, they grew! He was excited-heh, eggscited-mostly since this was just a new development!

What did it mean? What did he do? Maybe...maybe he put some more dirt around them, yes...maybe stir the water....make a few bubbles…

The eggs were less see-through now, more...opaque in a manner? He nudged them side to side, thrilled with how things were going. What would happen next, he wondered. Was it like that new candy with the surprise inside? Perhaps next time he would wait a while, see if the others grew like this!

\-------

The town does not remember Bradley Boo and his friend, Tram Lin. 

No one ever would. Barring Gaster.

He dealt with thieves and those who would dare to break into his home, oh yes. People were greedy and curious, none-more-so than the teenage population

But…

....

Gaster sat in his office, in his high back chair, soaking wet. Two little eggs were cradled in his palm. One was cracked through, the little developing abomination inside now a dim red. The other large, dangerous, snapping its little jaws, but now there was a hole that Gaster was determinately holding closed with his magic on the top of the egg.

It was too early.

They were too small.

Instinctively, he knew this.

He curled around them slowly, shushing the larger one. “You’ll wake your brother,” he murmured, staring dismally at the sad state of the darker one.

If only…

Bradly and Tram had thought he hid a large treasure in his cauldron. Woe unto them after they deigned to throw themselves at it and upended it, smashing his once beloved rejuvenating spot, and the place where his little eggs grew.

He sighed slowly, shutting his eyes. The thrum of life was dim for the younger one.

‘Please’, he thought. ‘I ask not for a mortal, but for me. Let me have this one.’

\-----------

Gaster hummed as he swept along, opening his son’s door. He flicked on a small lamp meant to mimic the sun, whistling as he passed by Cthulu’s tank and opening the dresser. “Good morning, dear, I do believe breakfast is being cooked as we speak!”

For a slow, chilling moment, he didn’t hear an answer. He turned slightly, watching as Red took a deep breath in his sleep, the sleep mask saying ‘DO NOT AWAKEN’ in scrawling red text laid over his eyes.

Okay.

Still alive.

Red yawned, shifting to sit up and squinting as he pulled up the mask. “Father,” he grumbled, “it is much too early to be awoken.”

“According to Ding, there shall be no night bats around here.” He nodded. “Now, what would you like today to wear? Hm?”

Red sighed, giving in to his father’s overbearingness as he called it, allowing him to set out a nice outfit (his dark black funeral dress, a pair of socks, his bag for Cthulu) as he slid off his bed, shuffling to the bathroom. 

When they were younger, their father would watch them as they napped, hand on each head, or just checked in on them during the night.

Often times, Red pondered what would make their father-normally a slightly cold and gruff person to the public-so…

Protective over them.

And then he’d go about his way, humming over Edge’s fussing about the earliness while gleefully showing off some invention of his or another he’d made during the night.

Whatever it was, the thought to ask was swept away by the plans for the day, and truth be told, neither son never brought it up to ask. 

(After all, they felt the love from him through his watchings, through his ways of making them feel safe. There was no reason to ponder the whys and how comes, they figured. It wasn’t worth knowing.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People often have reasons for what they do. The person who hesitates before crossing the road has been missed once or twice in their rush. The person who takes slow, methodical bites of their food has either choked before or is pondering if that is the taste of poison or if they're being paranoid.
> 
> The person who peers over the crib of their infant, watching their little chest rise and fall with each breath, has lived life long enough to know nothing is concrete and that every moment can be stolen in an instant.
> 
> (And is probably thinking on how to get their arm from underneath said infant.)


	14. Strange Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fellby notices the new family in town.
> 
> It's not like he's got anything else to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up the lyrics lmao
> 
> Nanenna actually helped me a bit with the coming events lol. I've always loved the Addams Family movies  
*but damn me for making Gaster a single child*

_There’s a straaaaange man in town, oh yeah~  
He’s tappin’ his foot to a beat only he knoooows~  
There’s a straaaange man in town, baby~  
And oh, he’s as slick as any fine Joe~_

_There’s a straaaange man in town, oooh~  
He’s got his sights. On. You.  
Straaange man, around~  
And ain’t nothin’ gonna slow~  
Him~  
Down~_

There was a rumor goin’ around town about their new neighbors. Rich, they were. Fine folk. Strange people, half of them ignoring the townsfolk while the others seemed to throw themselves into any and all festivities. 

And...well, the _secret_ of course.

But that’s not what Fellby cared about.

No, no. He heard tales of gold and riches lying under that giant house that sprung up out of nowhere. (Really, it just...poof, there, one day.)

Good thing he came back home, he might’ve missed all the fun.

\------

Fellby was a dark violet fire elemental. All he wanted in life was...well, he wanted a lot of things. Money was the biggest thing. Yeah he was greedy, so what? (It definitely didn’t sting when people called him scum or a conman, nah. That’s just what he was.)

His reflective glasses gave people glimpses of their own nervous faces, something he used for his own advantage. Fine clothes gave him the look of a person who had his shit together.

Which, he did.

He definitely did.

He definitely wasn’t straying around, wondering what the fuck to do in life, spending cash here there and yonder to see if it helped.

Yeah.

Totally.

So he goes home. Finds out about this mansion. Gets it in his head for a new con. This one’ll take some finagling however, but...well, he’s pulled off harder ones. Not that he’ll stay long, so it won’t be that bad.

\------

Blue is the one to open the door, a large grin on his face that drops a bit seeing the fire elemental on their porch. Oh. He was expecting the mailman, he’d found a cool voodoo doll for Red and wanted to show it to him (and maybe get another kiss????). “UM. HI.”

The guy smiled, tilting the glasses down a bit, showing white pips in the dark violet flames. “Heeeey there, how’s it going?”

“...GOOD?” The man had a suit on with a weird striped tie. Blue leaned around him, but no mailman. Yet. “UM. DID YOU NEED SOMETHING, SIR?”

“Yeah yeah, I uh, I’m here to see...my...cousin!”

Blue blinked. “...MISTER GASTER?”

The man snapped his fingers. “That’s him! Man you’re smart. Name’s Fellby, kidaroo.”

Blue shrugged, opening the door. “I’M BLUE...UM, I’LL GO GET HIM.”

This. Was so easy. 

Fellby stepped through the door as Blue rushed off up the stairs. He looked around, whistling. A large grandfather clock, some weird bear rug...chaise lounge….armchair. Damn. Guy had the money, didn’t he?

Another skeleton popped into view, from the kitchen. “Blue, no runn-oh um. Hello!”

Fellby gave a lazy salute. “Sup?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ding…” He paused, the ladle in his hand dangling from his fingers. “...oh is Blue getting Gaster then?”

“Yeah.” Fellby flopped into the armchair, adjusting himself. Nice and cushy, hell yeah. Ding blinked, nodding again.

“Very good! Ah, the soup!” he rushed back into the kitchen, Fellby snickering. Nice. Fellby whistled lightly as he waited, his foot tapping away, head tilting back as he heard footsteps.

Gaster was a tall skeleton in a weird black robe, with an amused smile on his face. Eh, well, at least he could try, right? Fellby winked. “Heya, cuz.”

Gaster raised an eye ridge as Blue wheeled around him to go out the back. “ ‘Cuz’? Intriguing. Let’s have a chat.”

\------

“An’ then I nearly like, fucking died in the Bermuda Triangle and poof, here I am.” Fellby clapped his hands, spreading them open. He gave some bullshit story about being lost to time when Gaster was a baby or something, hopefully it’d work.

Ding squinted curiously as Blue gasped. “WOWIE!!” He was leaning on the coffee table, obviously curious and entranced by the story.

Red was hiding under Gaster’s armchair for some reason, only red eye lights peeking out from under it. “No one escapes the Triangle, cousin.”

Gaster laughed softly, both legs curled into the chair to prevent stepping on his child. “He loves the Triangle, but come, Red, this is marvelous news! A dear cousin braving the water and coming back home.” He clapped, smiling. “It’s obvious you need some time to rest, yes?”

“Yup, that’s it, cuz,” Fellby bobbed his head as Edge squinted as well, holding a weird...grenade looking thing in his hands that he flipped back and forth with ease. “Just ah, maybe a few days, then I’ll be uuuuh on my way!”

That’d be enough time, hopefully.

Ding sighed. “Oh very well, despite the fact that I’m quite curious on how...you’re both related.” He waved between them as he stood up, nudging Stretch who was half asleep against Edge. “Come boys, we’ll fix up a room just for him then! Oh and we can make dinner and…”

He rustled the children from the room, barring Red who seemed like a small statue under Gaster’s chair. Gaster smiled at him, unfolding from the chair like a dark void slipping into place as he stood. “You’ll love it, dear cousin. I haven’t had family over in, oh, decades it feels like!”

“Great Aunt Famine,” Red chirped from under the chair, his eye lights trained on Fellby. “Remember, Father? She came to stir up some chaos, and to give birthday presents.”

“Ah,” he nodded, lacing his hands together. “I remember now, yes. What a horrible time.” Yet, he said it with a smile. “Very good then. We’ll even have a party, perhaps! To celebrate your arrival.”

“Yeaaah,” Fellby drawled out, curiously watching Gaster as he headed out of the room.

“Ding will show you your room! I must go and contact some of the relatives!”

Fellby shrugged, sitting up out of his slump in the chair, looking over at the dark entity under the chair. “Lots of uh, family, huh?”

“Last time we came together, the Great Fire of London occurred.”

Fellby blinked. “Uh. S-Sorry?”

Red slowly dragged himself from under the chair, standing to attention, his pinafore dustless and not a thread out of place. “Hm. Perhaps we really are related, then.” With that, he turned, heading around the armchair and back up the stairs without a word.

...shit, what did he get himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue does eventually receive the voodoo doll for Red and yes he did receive a peck on the cheek for it
> 
> The voodoo doll looks like that doll from Lilo & Stitch and is perfect for Red's aesthetic XD
> 
> (Gaster knows Fellby's not related, I mean *motions at the two* but like, it's something NEW and EXCITING so why tf not? not like the guy can kill him ahahahhahahahaa)


	15. First Day Of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to school and meet...interesting people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashley is kind of how you act when you're super into something but don't know how the other people are gonna take. 
> 
> Like
> 
> "Oh uh, so. Undertale. It's just a really cool game, you gotta play it yourself, like. It's got monsters in it..."
> 
> Basically she's trying to see if Red and Blue are gonna make fun of them or not seem interested.
> 
> Then she's gonna crack out the Wicca books and show off her secret altar bc she's a baby witch who needs a bit of guidance from Red who finds her just adorable UwU

Ding stood at the door, happily holding lunches and coats as the kids headed out the door. Stretch took his, grumbling when Ding patted his head, Edge ducked under his head quickly and raced out the door. Ding chuckled, shaking his head as he handed Blue his, patting his head to which Blue happily smiled. “BYE, DAD!”

“Goodbye, have fun. Red, here's yours.”

Red paused in front of him, gently taking a small bag instead of the plastic lunchboxes he had handed the others. He assumed Red would adore the bagged lunch instead. He patted Red's head once and smiled at him.

Red blinked. “Goodbye, sir. We shall return home later.”

“Of course!” He chirped, and Red turned, approaching Blue who was eagerly waiting before they linked arms, walking down the long, winding path.

Ding puffed up happily, shutting the door and whistling. “Now...let's see...” He shuffled off into the house, hoping the kids had a fun day at school.

~~

“We're being watched,” Red whispered to Blue, pressing a kiss to his cheek as they walked to their study hall hour. They had-suspiciously-the exact same schedule, but Blue certainly didn't mind.

Today he wore his sleeveless hoodie blue top and shorts, happily being dragged along by his darling Black Widow. Red was in a lacy black dress, no Cthulu sadly (said cephalopod waved sadly at them as they had left, making Blue feel guilty), but his parasol was attached at his hip like a sword.

Which made sense. It had a sword inside.

Blue tilted his head curiously, the hall they were in mysteriously empty of bustling students, but Red had that mystery to him. “HUH?”

Red tilted his head towards a door they passed by, and Blue followed his gaze. Above the row of lockers laid clear windows, for some reason-the school had weird architecture in general-and...a set of bright green eyes were peeking at them. Blue blinked. “SHOULD WE STOP?”

“Oh, that might be fun, let's do that.”

They paused in the middle of the hall, staring back at the eyes that disappeared quickly, the door slamming open as a girl skidded into view, pointing at them. “HEY! I totally need your dress, where'd you get it???”

She was taller than them in slight heels, her blonde hair flying behind her but elegantly styled so that nothing was out of place. She wore a shirt with the name of their town on it and under it, 'CHEERLEADING SQUAD', along with a ruffled black skirt. Red blinked. “I made it.”

She gasped, clapping a hand to her chest. “What. The. Hell. Seriously?! That is like, some fine stitching there.” She nodded, grinning before she clapped her hands. “Wait, is it your study hall time?” They nodded and she flapped her hands towards the door. “Come on, come on! We'll say you're in our club until you join up, but like, come on!”

She flounced inside and Blue looked at Red, who had a spark in his eye socket. “Well, you heard her, darling. Let's go.”

“OF COURSE!”

And so they entered, the door decorated with a large spiderweb and 'OCCULT CLUB' scribbled on construction paper. Blue opened the door for Red-earning a kiss to the cheek-and in they went.

Inside, it was just another school room. The chairs had been pushed to the back, however, and someone had dragged in various bean bag chairs. On one, on her stomach, was a light green fire elemental girl they had seen in first period named Fuku. On a purple one laid out a girl in jeans and a sweatshirt, strumming on a guitar. She was a dark purple squid monster, her tendrils spreading under her backwards hat.

And then the human girl, who was busy pushing on the rolling chair like she was on a ship, standing up quickly. “Okay so!” She pointed at Red, eyes glinting. “You know about like. You know. Ghosts. The other world??” Her voice grew higher in excitement and Red quirked a grin.

“My. You're all interested in that, hm?”

Fuku scrambled up, holding up a book she had been reading. “I want to go see the world's top haunted areas!”

The other girl gave a thumbs up. “Sure, babe! We'll go road tripping.”

“Demeria, introduce yourself!”

The squid stuck her tongue out. “Hi. I'm Demeria. I'm just here to hang.”

Blue laughed nervously. “I-I'M BLUE AND THIS IS RED!”

“Charmed, dears.”

The human girl thumped her chest, leaning her foot dangerously on the rolling chair as it creaked beneath her. “Ashley! You'll see me at games, I'm head cheerleader.” She hopped up, balancing easily on the arms of the rolling chair, giving a peace sign on her forehead. “And leader of the Occult Club!”

Red looked around slowly, tilting his head. “Fairly...boring, isn't it? For a club.”

“They won't let us decorate yet,” she groaned, hopping off and making the chair fall over with nary a scrape. “Until we either have a few more members or do some kind of competition.” She waved her hand, and Blue could see sparkles on her her fingernails. Huh, cool. “But it doesn't matter! You guys are from the mansion on the hill, yeah?”

“Perhaps,” Red couldn't help a smirk on his face, leaning on Blue. “Why?”

“It's haunted! And looks cool!” Ashley said, clasping her hands together. “So cool. Oh but! You guys should join up! You're totally part of the occult and stuff, right?”

Blue raised an eye ridge and Red giggled. “It depends, I suppose. What are you aiming to do?”

Ashley dug into a desk, pulling out a journal, holding it out in front of her. “I've made a comprehensive list of every single book I've read on Wiccans and Paganism and the Occult.” She pointed at a sticker on the front of the journal, poking it. “I put fluffy unicorns on it! And I tied some Amethysts into the wires.” Blue could see the purple stone peeking out from the spirals of the journal.

He blinked. Red covered his mouth. “Yes, as the Old Gods foretold,” he nodded seriously, then took up Blue's hand, pecking a kiss to his cheek. “We should join up, darling, it's not good to leave beginners to the unknown.”

“OH, OKAY!” Blue smiled. “CAN I STILL JOIN THE BASKETBALL TEAM?”

Demeria perked up, scrambling off the bean bag chair. “DUUUDDE!! Baskteball!”

“YES!”

She laughed, pointing a thumb at herself. “I'm on it! We can be ball buddies!”

Blue gasped, stars in his eyes, and Red shooed him on to his new friend to go and talk. Fuku squirmed off her bag, hopping over so the two could chatter on about sports. “Have you seen a ghost?” She showed him the magazine, a long winding road on the cover. “They say there's so many in the south! I'd like to go.” She sighed as he took the magazine, flipping through it.

“No, but we have a ghoul in the attic.”

Ashley nodded, curling a strand of hair around her finger slowly. “Ghouls are a mood.” She put her hands on her hips, grinning. “Oh this'll be fun! We can go out exploring a forest, we could read some more books. OH!” She gasped, whispering, “we could try to summon a demon!”

Red let a grin etch its way onto his face, tilting his head as his eyes glowed darkly. “Oh honey,” he crooned, gently handing the magazine back to Fuku. “Why summon one when I am already here?”

~~

Stretch dug his brownie out of the plastic tray the school had somehow managed to melt it into, biting into it eagerly. “So, not even one class, huh?”

Edge sat near him, smelling of rotten eggs with ash covering his hands, his jaw making an interesting clicking noise as he chewed on a taco, one hand wrapped tightly in a bandage courtesy of the science teacher. “HALF OF ONE!”

Stretch nodded, spearing one of the pears. “The fire alarm break was nice for a bit, so, good job.”

“THANK YOU!”

They sat, eating together, making a grunt noise when their brothers arrived. Blue put his and Red's trays down as Red tutted, pulling out a handkerchief and started scrubbing at Edge's face. “Really, brother, at least clean up after.”

Edge sputtered, trying to tilt his head away as Stretch snickered. “STOP IIIIT YOU'RE SO EMBARRASSING!” 

“Oh shush,” Red flicked the handkerchief free of the ash, tucking it back up his sleeve. “We have friends coming, so behave.”

Stretch frowned, eye sockets furrowing. “Huh? Who?”

A human girl skidded into view, this time wearing a short cheerleader top, holding a bottle of some weird yellow liquid-lemonade?-and her tray held the weirdest burger in the world. It was like she took all the extras that day and just piled them on. “Hey! They had pears today! I love pears.” She took a seat, unscrewing the top of her water bottle as Stretch and Edge stared at her.

Then they stared at Fuku and Demeria, who dragged chairs over to them, chattering on about something they didn't know. Then they shrugged, and went back to eating, Edge avoiding Red's fussing and whining at him.

Ashley bit into her burger, the pear juice leaking a bit and she had to wiggle her hand, drying it on a napkin. “So like-” she cleared her throat, her mouth still full until she swallowed. “So we can't meet this weekend, I have cheerleader camp. But like, wanna meet up on Friday or Monday?”

“Friday does sound good,” Red said, daintily piercing the pear and eating it, now unbothered now that Edge's face was (fairly) clean. “Cthulu is shedding and it would be a joy to watch along with everyone.”

Ashley's eyes widened curiously, only stopped by the fact she had another bite in her mouth.

Their first day of school was a success, in Red's eyes.

If only they knew of the chaos happening back at home...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next day:
> 
> Red: I've decided to take you on as my protege   
Ashley: Hah, cool...does that mean you're gonna join our club?  
Red: Correction, we'll adopt you, right, Blue?  
Blue: AREN'T WE ALL THE SAME AGE?  
Red: >_>  
Blue: YOU'RE RIGHT, YES, ADOPTION IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO.
> 
> Ashley is already my fave don't hurt my bby OC.


	16. Family Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster wants to show Fellby around.
> 
> Fellby would like to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does the Inspector Gadget movie live up to the cartoon? Discuss.

Something within the home made a small crackling noise, then with lumbering lurches, a dark inky mass of tentacles slowly meandered its way around the table within the kitchen. It started to climb up onto a chair, reeling up behind Ding who was busy humming and stirring a pot with a recipe book open, and-

“Gaster please, I’m trying to concentrate.”

Gaster whined as he plunked his now-mortal form’s head on Ding’s shoulder, hugging onto the other. “I miss theeeem…”

“Ridiculous,” Ding tutted, reaching up to grab a salt shaker, flicking away a curious moth that attempted to bite him with odd dripping fangs. He wore the apron with a vampire’s kiss on it, Gaster noted. “Haven’t you all ever been away from each other for longer than an hour?”

“...nooooo…,” Gaster whined, slumping in his form a bit and Ding rolled his eyes, chuckling.

“It’s good to establish independence at a young age!”

“Red’s independent for the both of them,” Gaster pouted, slinking into the chair and climbing in like a massive cat, looking put out. “Whatever will I do with my day besides awakening the boys and being distracted with their massive bombings?”

Ding hummed, swirling the mixture slowly as he read over the recipe, a scent of garlic filling the air after a moment. “What do you often do when you’re not around them? Or before they were born?”

Gaster didn’t say anything, which made Ding turn around, and he looked even more put out, like a child being told no to a certain candy. Ding sighed, smiling. “Why not go and tend to our new guest? Perhaps he’d enjoy a tour of the home!”

Gaster seemed thoughtful for a moment, before slipping from the chair, his robe coming to life now as he nodded, smoothing down the front of it. “Yes, you’re quite correct! My...cousin, yes. He’s been out of touch. I suppose everything is new to him. What a fine idea, dear! I shall be back.”

Ding waved him on, pleased to be left to make the sauce without a distraction. He promised Edge he’d have lasagna ready when they arrived home, and he didn’t want to disappoint!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fellby had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.

The room this ‘Ding’ character had shown him had seemed...okay-ish. It had a bed, with a chest at the end-probably for clothes-with a soft red carpet and for some odd reason, a lantern next to the bed. 

It was odd because the house had modern lights, so he wasn’t sure what the purpose of the lantern was. Decoration? Maybe?

The windows in this room were large, with a small ledge one could sit on to stare outside. The kid, the creepy one that kept staring at him, said the sun gave them all migraines and hoped that Fellby wouldn’t suffer that night.

...creepy.

Once he’d, you know, taken off his shoes and his coat and tossed his shirt on a chair, he’d laid down...only to find that there were _spikes_ in the bed. Spikes!! What the hell!

He got up and checked under the blanket, but it seemed as soft as any other bed. He even yanked up the mattress to find out what the fuck was going on, but nothing. But the moment he laid down, it was like tiny spikes pressing all over his back.

He didn’t sleep well that night, no.

But he couldn’t tell that creepy doctor that, not when he was having to pretend he was part of this family, after all. And they probably slept on spikes all the time. He didn’t know how, but he was sure they did.

Anyway, he had to stop thinking about that as the weird doctor-er, his...cousin-had knocked on his door, gleefully grinning (with some sinister undertone he couldn’t place) with his hands folded in front. “Dearest cousin. My...Ding has raised up that we have yet to give you a tour, and he is correct! I’m sure you’d like one, yes?”

“N-” Wait, wait. If there was any chance of the riches being here, then ignoring a home tour would be to his great disadvantage. Plus, he needed to know where to avoid...like that little monster’s room. No way was he ever accidentally ending up there. “Iiiii mean suuuure, cuz! That sounds like a grand ol’ time.” He leaned against the edge of the door frame with a smirk. “Where to first?”

Bad question.

There was a fucking moat with a shark or something swimming in it and Fellby had to pin himself to the wall to just even follow Gaster. “Cuz, I don’t know if you noticed, _but me and water don’t mix,_” he hissed out, scrambling around the outer edge to hurry after the other who appeared barely affected as he walked over a small bridge.

“I take it the time in the Triangle has caused some phobias, then? Tsk tsk.” He wagged a finger, approaching a large oak door that opened with a push. “Not to worry, we can cure that. But first!” He entered into a library, which Fellby dove headfirst into, panting sharply, his tie now askew. Damn, that was close. Gaster hummed as he walked beside the bookshelves, not a speck of dust to be found on a shelf or the table, or even the globe resting in the corner.

All the same, he aimed to keep pace with the other. Obviously, this house was trying to kill him.

Gaster reached out to a large book, hooking his fingers into the top and pulling it lightly. “Vibrancy,” he mumbled as the bookshelf started to swing open, leaving Fellby blinking in shock before he ducked under and hurried after Gaster. Man, that old skeleton was fast on his heels! 

“Soooo where we goin’ anyway?”

Gaster clapped his hands, happily laughing as he climbed into a...mine...cart? “It’s the best way to show you all you have missed over the years! I’ve been meaning to show Ding and the children, but later, later! Come come.”

...well he came this far. He clambered in, grunting as they started at an ungodly speed, nearly putting his hair out! They bounced through a weird smoke circle, grinding to a stop in front of a weird, out of place alcove. Gaster slid out of the minecart-literally, like, where the hell were his legs??-and Fellby pulled himself out, retying his tie back into order with a huff.

Gaster happily opened the door to a messy looking office, happily clapping. “Oh my yes, it’s been so long since I’ve had someone to show these to, now let’s...see…” he mumbled, shuffling over to a large crate. There was another bookcase, a desk with many papers...a weird vase…

Hey, that might be worth something.

He ducked over carefully, touching the lip of the vase. It was golden with two large handles, but it felt really...thin? Perhaps just a decoration, not meant for flowers? Either way, he would so make some bank on it-and now he’s being rotated around, oh shit.

Oh

SHIT.

He knew they were loaded! There were piles upon piles upon piles of gold and rubies and other things. Now he knew where to go...oh shit, Gaster was going to know something was up. He quickly pushed the vase back into place, stiffening as it rotated around just as Gaster turned with a large film reel. “Uuuuh.”

“The Fall of 1666! I’m sure you’ll enjoy this part of family history!”

~~

How fucking old were these people? He had to ask himself, a cup of wine in his hand, Gaster laughing at various things with a cup in his hand.

In the film, Gaster was...only a little kid. He held tight onto a woman’s robe, long and elegant skeleton she was. They were framed by a fire behind them, crackling and angry as sirens ripped through the air. It was black and white and yet held no signs of age. She sighed, hand on one hip, the other curled around Gaster’s tiny skull. “Darling, please.”

“I’m rushing, yes, one second!”

In the frame, a large squid-like monster moved into place, his many tentacles wrapping around his wife and child, one gently rubbing Gaster’s head. “Take note, son! This is what happens…”

“Yes Father,” came the high-pitched voice, which then cut to a large party with...several fire elementals. Colors he had never seen in years.

He sipped his wine casually as Gaster laughed, pointing at one doing some sort of tap-dance move. “Do you recall Uncle Thrax? Would never leave the single women alone at the parties.”

“Name escapes me,” he mumbled. He was...intrigued. These people seemed happy and thrilled and...very diverse. He would have assumed them all to be skeletons.

He assumed wrong.

As Gaster said, there were flame elementals, and it seemed his father had been a squid-like monster. But he could spy a large bird monster in the background, and dancing with Gaster himself was a Whimsun who seemed...not as nervous as their counterparts.

And humans.

So many fucking humans.

He was really, really confused about that. The thing was...they were very...very odd? He couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

One elegant lady slid by the dancing young man, and he saw her hair furling and unfurling like tentacles.

He took a long drink.

As the film wound down, Gaster’s mother swishing into view, and on the arm of her husband, Gaster sighed and looked over at him, smiling. “It has been some time since the family’s been together. I’m sure they would all love to come and ensure your health!”

“Yeah, sure,” Fellby mumbled, slipping the glass on the side table with a sigh as he got up. “Heya uh, let’s go eat, yeah?”

“Absolutely! Ding makes such wonderful food,” Gaster got up excitedly, clapping his hands. “Let us adjourn then!”

Sure, whatever you say, doc…

~~

Finding out the two weren’t married, in fact, had just started dating, sent Fellby into a sputtering tailspin. “What?!”

“What what?” Gaster asked as they headed back towards the living room. Fellby huffed, his flames crackling as he stomped after the other.

“Cuz, you ain’t gonna get no one if you just let ‘em come to you!” He clapped his hand on Gaster’s shoulder, a little pleased he had something besides stealing to do now. “Lemme help ya, I used ta hook up with the babes all the time.”

“Of course,” Gaster seemed amused at this as the door opened, letting them out from under the stairs (wait when did they go under the stairs??). “What would you suggest first?”

Fellby grinned. This would be _fun_.

~~

Well. He was close. It was interesting, at least.

Instead of flowers to give, he got some weird plant with mouths that immediately ate the pot Ding was using. Literally. It took a bite of the metal and just didn’t stop chewing.

While Ding fussed about this, Fellby had instructed Gaster to be ‘more assertive, in charge, show him who’s boss’.

So, Gaster said “Ding, they just want to get to know you!” and then nudged the pot of metal-chewers closer, prompting them to steal Ding’s glasses he had put to the side, leading to him shouting and trying to get them out of the tiny mouths while Gaster looked rather confused on why he didn’t take it as a compliment that he ‘looked handsome without them.’

Fellby sighed, head on his hand, his other grabbing up the cup of coffee next to him. “Disaster gays, to be sure,” he grumbled, taking a long sip. “I got my work cut out for me.”

“Ya sure do,” replied the polar bear rug. Fellby stared ahead for a moment, watching the two as somehow, someway, a fire started in the sink.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t speak.”

“That seems wise,” replied the polar bear rug, and Fellby had never been so complimented before. Maybe he was too harsh on the rug. Maybe he should be nicer.

Maybe he should toss this obviously poisoned coffee in the nearby potted plant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fellby: Stars you two are such disaster gays.  
Gaster: Disaster what?  
Ding: How rude!  
Fellby: yeah get over it, I'm gonna fucking fix this fucking mess.
> 
> Fellby is *offended* that they, obviously, are walking on eggshells around one another. He's a thief sure, but he's a thief with *standards*
> 
> And those standards are not be a pair of fucking nerds and own up to your feelings (which he feels like they aren't doing lmao)


End file.
